Another Night, A Different Chat
by perfectromanceinmymind
Summary: A spur-of-the-moment question changes April & Jackson's lives. A semi-AU story running parallel to the 2nd half of Season 7 beginning with the kitchen scene at the end of Ep 7-12 "Start Me Up."
1. Chapter 1

April rolled her eyes and Jackson chuckled as they watched Laurel stroll back out of the kitchen.

"Ugh," April muttered and now it was Jackson's turn to roll his eyes.

"You're just jealous," he commented and April stared at him in surprise.

"I am not," she retorted.

"Yeah, you are," Jackson replied, leaning back in his chair. "Not in the way you think I mean, though, not because she hooked up with Karev –"

"Absolutely not," April interrupted and Jackson shot her a look.

"Will you let me finish?"

"Sorry, sorry, please, continue," she said, taking a sip of her beer.

"Thank you. As I was saying," Jackson continued, pointing at her with his beer bottle, "what you're jealous of is that she's comfortable with herself."

April leaned forward, elbow on the table, chin propped in her hand. "I'm not sure I follow," she said slowly and he thought for a minute.

"Okay, it's like – say you had gone home with some guy and then went to the kitchen half dressed and ran into his housemates, you'd be bright red and stammering all over the place, right? Totally embarrassed, right?"

"I –" April started to protest and then gave up as Jackson grinned.

"You would. You're blushing right now just thinking about it," he teased.

She groaned. He was right, of course, she could feel the heat in her cheeks.

"I'm so predictable," she said.

Jackson shrugged. "Maybe, but whatever. Nothing to stress over – you're cute when you blush."

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "Sure. You just gotta work on the whole tongue-tied thing, cuz it's not as cute."

She made a face at him. "Thanks a lot," she muttered. "But I know, I know. It's like my brain shuts down and I completely forget how to make words."

Jackson laughed and she punched his arm again.

"Shut up – it sucks. It's like I spent so much time being smart all my life, I forgot to develop social skills. If they'd ever graded us on those, I'd've flunked out in about sixth grade."

"Be that as it may," Jackson said, "the past is past – you gotta learn to let it go. Move on with life."

April held out her hands, palms-up, and looked heaven-ward.

"Of course. Such a simple plan. Why in the world did I not think of that?" she said sarcastically.

Jackson grinned. "It's been a crap day and I'm on my third beer. I hope you weren't really looking for good advice from me."

April laughed, shaking her head. "I guess I shouldn't have been." She sighed. "Anyway, I know you're right. I mean, I really hate to admit this, but I even know Alex was right when he told me I need to learn to relax."

"It's a possibility."

April laughed again. "You don't have to sugarcoat it. Even Reed used to tell me that maybe if I'd just loosen up and get laid it might help my whole general outlook." She giggled even more when she saw the surprised look on his face.

"Really. She said that?"

"Yup," April nodded.

"You mean she knew about the virgin thing and didn't tell any of the rest of us, didn't make you miserable about it?" Jackson asked, a little skeptically.

April shook her head. "Not around the rest of you, anyway. Some days I never heard the end of it when we were at home, but whatever. The question is, was she right?"

Jackson shrugged. "Maybe she had a point. Maybe if you just do it it'll eliminate having that to worry about." He paused to think for a moment. "But, on the other hand – what a waste for you to have waited all this time and then just do it to get it done with. If it's been this long, you really maybe ought to keep holding out for 'the one.'"

"I know, right?" April agreed. "Welcome to my eternal mental debate." She took a long sip of her beer, tilting the bottle back to get the last drops and then set the bottle back down on the table with a thump and began pensively picking at the label, peeling it off in pieces, lost in thought.

Jackson was quiet for a long while also, watching her build her little pile of label pieces. He hated seeing her look so – defeated. Suddenly he was struck by the realization of how much he really cared about her, how much he wanted to protect her, keep her safe from heartbreak and hurt and vulnerability. They'd always been friendly, from the first day they'd worked together at Mercy West, but since the shooting they'd become so much closer – she really was his best friend.

April finished shredding the beer label and swept the pieces off the table and into her hand. Standing up, she walked the two steps to the trash can and threw them away before looking back at Jackson.

"Well, it's late and the big questions like this aren't going to get solved in one night," she said quietly, half-smiling at him. "I should get to bed."

She started to walk past him and he reached out and grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. "April – wait –" he said. '_God,' _he thought_, 'was he REALLY going to voice the thought that had just entered his brain?_'

She turned to look at him questioningly, expectantly.

"I thought of a compromise of sorts," he said slowly. "You could always try finding 'the one for right now,' maybe. Like, don't just do it with any old guy who's willing, but with a friend, who cares about you and will treat you with respect and make it special for you and…" his voice trailed off as he met her eyes.

April stared at him, wide-eyed. '_Where exactly was he going with this?' _she wondered_. 'Did he mean what it sounded like he meant?'_

"Um," she managed to spit out and then visibly seemed to gather herself together enough to say, "And, where exactly do you think I might find a friend like that? Did you have any –" she faltered a moment and then squeaked out the word "suggestions?"

"Well, yeah," Jackson said, the hint of a grin sliding onto his face. "Me."

He wouldn't have thought it possible, but her eyes actually got wider. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and finally she sank back into her chair, still staring at him.

"I – I don't even know what to say," she finally said.

"That's okay," he replied. "Talking's not always very necessary."

"Jackson!" She could feel the blushing starting all over again and he chuckled.

He was still holding onto her hand and now he took hold of her other hand so that he was holding both of hers in his and said, "Look, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. It was just a thought."

April nodded. "It's a really nice thought," she admitted, giggling a little, "but – "

Jackson sighed. "Ah, there's always a but."

"Sshh," she said. "I – can I think about it for a little bit?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sure," he replied and she smiled.

"It's not that I wouldn't want to – I just – it's like we've talked about before – you're my best friend and I don't want to ruin that and well, it could just be kinda weird and –"

"It's okay," Jackson said with a laugh. "I know it's a big deal. Take all the time you need – consider it a standing offer."

April shook her head. "I'm almost not sure if I should be flattered or annoyed," she said with a nervous laugh.

Jackson grinned. "Maybe both. Anyway," he said as he stood up and dropped a kiss on the top of her head, "it is late. Just let me know what you decide, whenever you decide it."

April nodded as she watched him saunter out of the room and then let her head fall forward until her forehead hit the table with a thunk. "Great," she muttered as she stood up and tossed both her beer bottle and his into the recycling bin. "Like I'm going to be able to get any sleep while I've got _that_ on my mind?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I can't thank you all enough for all your kind words about this story. As many of you noticed, it was originally only going to be a one-shot and the overwhelming response is the main reason I'm continuing. (Well, that and the fact that April & Jackson have taken up residence in my head and WILL. NOT. LEAVE. But mostly because of your responses.) So, that said, thank you again and I hope you enjoy part two!**

April stood in the middle of the kitchen for a long moment before finally deciding that there was no point in trying to go to bed yet. She grabbed another beer from the fridge and sat back down at the kitchen table, her mind whirling.

"_Jackson just offered to sleep with me!_" her brain was screaming. Maybe she was in shock. She was a doctor; shouldn't she know the symptoms? She found herself wishing, not for the first time, that she was closer to her sisters, that she could call one of them and talk about this, get some advice. If only Reed were still – no. She couldn't go down that line of thought – too depressing. Besides, she knew exactly what Reed would say – she would definitely tell her to go for it and why was she still sitting out here in the kitchen?

April laughed softly to herself, shaking her head. Maybe she was still sitting here because she couldn't be sure that the conversation had even happened. Jackson Avery was way out of her league. Of course, she'd been attracted to him in the beginning – all the women in their intern class had been. Not to mention about half the men, too. But between his killer looks and his supremely confident, smart-ass attitude, she'd known she stood no chance. So she hadn't even bothered to try any pathetic attempts at flirting with him and, although she didn't know it, that was why they'd even become somewhat friends in the first place – he appreciated the fact that she didn't treat him like eye candy. And then the events of the last year and a half had somehow led them here – to a strange new world order where he let her cry on his shoulder and then punched out the guy who'd made her cry in the first place.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"What do I do?" she muttered to herself.

"Do about what?" Lexie asked and April jumped about a foot out of her chair, letting out a small shriek.

"Holy crap, you scared me!"

"Sorry," Lexie apologized, laughing as she opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Just getting some water."

"Why is everyone in this house so concerned with hydration tonight?" April asked, a little exasperatedly, and Lexie looked confused.

"What?"

April waved a dismissive hand. "Nothing, never mind."

Lexie studied her for a minute. "You alright?"

April nodded. "I'm fine."

Lexie didn't look convinced, but nodded. "Okay," she said as she turned to walk out of the room and then April's voice stopped her mid-turn.

"Lexie – wait. Can I ask you a question?" Lexie didn't reply and April felt herself losing her nerve and started rambling. "I mean, I know we're not really friends, but maybe we're kinda sorta getting there and –"

"April. Just ask it," Lexie finally interrupted her, the faintest hint of a smile on her face.

April took a deep breath, not even really knowing what she wanted to ask. She didn't want to ask the real question – should she take Jackson up on his offer? – but she didn't know what to say instead. Finally, she just blurted out, "How did you know? About Mark? That he was the one?"

Lexie narrowed her eyes. "First tell me if this question has anything to do with your completely inappropriate crushes on either my brother-in-law or my ex-boyfriend."

April shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "Nothing to do with either one of them. I swear."

Lexie nodded and then shrugged. "Okay. The answer is I don't know. I still don't know if he's the one. I just know that, right now, it feels right."

April nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

Lexie studied her for another few seconds and then shrugged. "Whatever. Good night." She turned and walked out, leaving April once again alone with her racing thoughts.

"Just stop," she finally thought to herself. "Stop thinking." With a deep breath, she stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

Down the hall, in the office-with-a-couch that had somehow become his bedroom, Jackson was taking his time getting ready for bed. He'd removed his shoes and watch, traded his jeans for pajama pants and was pulling his t-shirt over his head when the door to his room flew open.

"That was _completely_ unfair – oh!" April's voice went from indignant to startled as he finished pulling his shirt off and tossed it on the bed.

"Ever hear of knocking?" he said sarcastically – and yet, not unkindly, and April groaned inwardly as she felt the heat rush to her cheeks – AGAIN.

Closing her eyes for a second, she took another deep breath and forced herself not to stutter and stammer as she looked at him and said, "That's not fair either."

He looked momentarily confused. "What's not?"

April pointed at his bare chest. "That. I can't talk to you while your abs are looking at me."

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well," he said slyly, "I already told you we don't have to do a lot of talking for this to work and it's usually easier with clothes off -"

Surprising both him and herself, she cut him off. "Jackson. Shut up," she snapped, handing him his T-shirt. "Don't play Mr. Smooth, Mr. Cocky with me. That's not fair either."

Something in her tone made him realize she was right and he took the shirt from her and pulled it back over his head.

"Better?"

She nodded, even though, if she was being perfectly honest, she kinda wished he'd kept it off. But she knew she'd never get anywhere with THAT kind of distraction in front of her and so she plunged ahead. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, that was completely unfair."

Jackson sat down on the edge of the bed. "What was unfair?"

"That!" April cried in exasperation. "That conversation we just had in the kitchen!"

Jackson's brow was furrowed in confusion. "April, I am so lost."

April sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense – I just – I just don't see how you can say something like that and completely scramble my brain and then just wander off to bed like it's no big deal."

"Apr—" he tried to interrupt and she just kept on talking.

"No, let me finish or I'll never get it all said," she said hurriedly, cutting him off and continuing," I mean, I just, I don't think of you like that or at least I try really hard not to, because I never thought it would ever, ever happen and so there's no point in even entertaining those kinds of thoughts and I really didn't think you thought of me that way either, except that – oh God, you probably _don't_ think of me that way, you totally just made this offer out of pity, didn't you?"

As she spoke, she was pacing the length of the room, her hands gesturing all over the place and it was all he could do to keep the grin off his face as he watched her. She was all worked up, in an adorable sort of way, and he suddenly felt like he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"_And I don't know why, but she's changed my mind…"_

The random song lyric flashed through his head as he watched her. Something from when he was in college. God, what song was it? Something about crazy – 'Crazy for You?' No, that was really old Madonna. Something about being crazy about someone, anyway.

As Jackson racked his brain, he suddenly realized April had stopped talking and was just glaring at him, arms crossed over her chest. "_Crap_," he thought.

"You did," April said slowly, her irritation just kind of - deflating. "I am a complete idiot. You're not even the least bit attracted to me, are you? You just feel sorry for me," she said glumly, turning sideways away from him.

Jackson shook his head, clearing away the cobwebs and fully focusing on the current conversation again. "Wait, _what_? Are you serious?"

April shrugged and he shook his head again. "_Crazy_," he thought again. It was crazy, what he'd said in the kitchen before, what he was about to do, but maybe what he was, in the end, was crazy about her.

"You know, for a smart girl, you're really kind of stupid sometimes," he said as he stood up and walked to where he was facing her.

Her head snapped up and she glared at him again. "Yeah, well you're really –" she started to retort indignantly, but whatever she was going to say was lost as Jackson closed the gap between them, took her face in his hands and kissed her, with all the pent-up emotion he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying around.

April let out a startled gasp and then, without even realizing she was doing it, she relaxed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving in completely to the kiss. When they finally broke apart, Jackson took a step back, looked pointedly at her and asked, "Still think I'm not attracted to you?"

**One more little note: The song lyric is from the Evan & Jaron song "Crazy for this Girl." It came up on my iPod last week and I've become a little obsessed with it as a Jackson/April song. Primarily for the lyric mentioned in the story, but also for the line that goes "She was the one to hold me, the night the sky fell down," which makes me think of how they must have been each other's main source of support in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, their metaphorical falling sky. A bit cheesy, I'm sure, but I get a lot of inspiration out of song lyrics, so, whatever works, right? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: I got this done faster than I thought I would - but I really struggled to get the tone the way I wanted it. I hope it works and I hope you all like it. Please let me know and thank you so much for all your kind words so far! Enjoy!**

Wordlessly, April shook her head – she didn't quite trust herself to speak. If she'd thought her mind was whirling before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now.

Jackson watched her, could see on her face how her analytical brain was struggling to process what had just happened, and in a softer, gentler tone he asked, "April? You okay?"

She nodded as she replied, "I – yeah." She looked up at him, unable to stop the smile spreading across her face. "Wow," she said, so softly he almost didn't hear her. "I – I think I need to sit down," she added, sinking down to the edge of the bed before her legs could give out. She curled her legs up underneath her as Jackson chuckled and sat down beside her.

"Watch it," he joked. "You're going to seriously over-inflate my ego." April cracked a smile at that as he stretched out full-length on the bed, resting his head against the hand propped up by his elbow, and looking up at her. She still seemed a little shell-shocked as she looked back at him.

"I'm sorry," she said with a nervous giggle. "I know I'm acting like I've never even been kissed before but…" her voice trailed off before she breathed the word "wow" again and he put a look of mock alarm on his face.

"That _wasn't_ your first kiss, was it?" he asked, praying she would realize he was teasing.

"No!" she said defensively, before really looking at him and realizing that it was clearly all he could do not to laugh and she visibly relaxed. "You jerk," she said good-naturedly before quietly admitting, "It's been a really long time though. Years…and you just really took me by surprise."

"Kinda surprised me too, actually," Jackson admitted, reaching over and taking one of her hands in his, intertwining their fingers. "It just hit me all of sudden, how amazing you are and – special to me – and -." He broke off mid-sentence, unable to find the right words.

"I can't believe this is happening," April said, shaking her head in disbelief as she glanced at their joined hands and then back at him. "Am I dreaming?"

Jackson grinned. "If you were, would you want to wake up?"

April laughed. "That is the most ridiculous question I've ever heard. Of course I wouldn't want to wake up." As she said the words, she realized how very, very true they were. Like she'd told him a few minutes ago, she had never even allowed herself to entertain the idea of Jackson as a romantic prospect, at first because she knew it would never happen and then because she didn't want to lose his friendship, but the minute he'd made that crazy offer in the kitchen, all the potential feelings she had bottled up broke free. How had she not realized before how much she liked him?

She shook her head again, breaking herself out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just - I don't even know what to say, what to think, what to do…" her voice trailed off again and Jackson grinned.

"Okay – so for now don't talk, don't think – and as for what to do, well, we could always just make out for awhile," he suggested, affecting what he hoped was a casual yet sincere tone, and April giggled.

"Okay," she agreed, letting him pull her down beside him on the bed, her heart racing as he wrapped his arms around her and covered her mouth with his own. It was unreal, she couldn't help thinking. It was all so new – she'd never been in a man's bed before (those few seconds in the on-call room totally didn't count, as far as she was concerned – it wasn't actually Alex's bed and it wasn't _anything_ like this) and in her wildest dreams, she'd never imagined she'd end up in this man's bed.

April lost all sense of time, all sense of everything really, except Jackson and his hands – his lips… Everywhere he touched her felt like it was on fire. At some point, she found her hands moving to unbutton her blouse and then Jackson's hands grabbed hers as he pulled away from her just slightly.

"What?" she said hesitantly. "Did I do something wrong?"

Jackson quickly shook his head. "No, no, not at all." He took a ragged breath, working hard to get his emotions under control. He reached over and brushed her hair out of her face (somewhere along the line it had come out of the messy bun it had been in) and then took another deep breath before saying," Look – April - don't take this the wrong way – but – "

Before he could finish the sentence, she interrupted him, sounding thoroughly pissed and disappointed at the same time. "Oh God, you've changed your mind, haven't you?"

Jackson burst out laughing. "No, you idiot."

"Don't laugh at me," April warned him, poking his (now once-again shirtless – when had that come off? She couldn't remember) chest with her index finger as best she could while her hands were restrained by his. "I'm new at this, remember?"

His face softened and he nodded. "I know. And that's why I just want you to know that we don't have to take this any further tonight if you don't want to. That's all."

"Oh," April said quietly. "Okay." She looked down for a moment, not speaking, and he just watched her – waiting – hoping – and then she looked up, met his eyes and smiled and no matter how nervous she felt inside, when she spoke, her voice was sure. "I know we don't have to. That's why I want to."

Jackson grinned, let go of her hands and reached for her top button. "In that case, let me get those for you," he said in a voice just above a whisper and April felt like she could just melt into a giant puddle. _How_ had she gotten so lucky, she wondered and then thought to herself, "_Doesn't matter. Quit thinking_." And she closed her eyes and gave herself over to the moment.

_The next morning..._

Gray early-morning light was seeping through the blinds as April rolled over, half-asleep, right into Jackson's chest.

Her eyes flew open and she was instantly fully awake as the previous night's events came rushing back to her. She and Jackson – oh, my _God_, she'd finally done it. Had sex. With Jackson.

"Not a virgin anymore," she said happily, not realizing she'd spoken out loud until Jackson opened one eye, squinted as he looked over her head at the clock, and then muttered, "It's 5:30 in the morning. Unless you're interested in not being a virgin again right now, go back to sleep."

April grinned as she sat up in the bed. "Tempting as that is, I need to get upstairs before anyone else wakes up. Where did you put my shirt?"

"Dunno," he mumbled. "'S probably on the floor somewhere. Wait," he said more clearly as her first sentence reached his brain and he opened both eyes. "Why do you have to get upstairs?"

April rolled her eyes in a 'duh' sort of way. "Because there are five of our co-workers, plus possibly still some random med student, in this house and I figure you don't want them knowing you did this favor for me," she said matter-of- factly as she tugged the bed sheet loose and wrapped it around herself as she slid out from under the blanket.

Jackson rolled his eyes right back at her. "Okay, one, I really don't give a damn who knows about us, because, as you yourself said when you read us all the riot act at Joe's, it's none of their business, so who cares? And two, why are you bothering with the sheet when I already saw it all last night?" he asked teasingly, grinning as her face – as usual – turned red.

"That was different," she protested as he shook his head and reached across the bed to grab her hand, pulling her back down beside him. "And thirdly," he continued as he looked down at her, "I thought you got that it wasn't just a favor – that it was more than that."

April nodded, her expression turning serious. "I know," she said softly. "And maybe that's why I don't want them to know – yet. I want to keep it – I dunno, special, I guess. Just for us, just for a little bit. I dunno, is that stupid?" she asked, looking at him worriedly.

Jackson considered the question for a minute and finally shook his head. "No, I guess not. I mean, I think I get it, sort of."

April laughed. "You don't get it at all, do you?"

"Not even a little bit," he admitted. "But whatever. If it's what you want, I'll go with it for now."

"Thank you," she smiled, leaning over to kiss him and then getting back off the bed, finding her clothes and hurriedly pulling on her jeans and blouse – couldn't find her panties and didn't have time to bother with her bra – before she leaned over the bed to kiss him once more and then slipped out the door.

Jackson flopped back onto the pillow and laughed to himself. "_What have I gotten myself into?_" he wondered. Well, one thing was for sure - being with April was definitely going to keep his life interesting!


	4. Chapter 4

April kept her cool right up until the moment she closed Jackson's door behind her and then she gave herself a moment to completely freak out, doing a manic sort-of 'happy dance' in the hallway – kind of like Laura Linney's character in _Love Actually_ after she finally got her crush from the office to come home with her. Then she headed upstairs, grabbed her robe and went to take a shower.

Another half an hour or so later, she was back downstairs, puttering around the kitchen, getting the coffee started and deciding on an easy breakfast of cereal and fruit. She poured herself a bowl of Cheerios and sat down at the kitchen table, marveling at the complete 180 her life had done since the last time she sat at that table not even twenty-four hours earlier.

April was often the first one awake in Meredith's 'frat house' – it was a holdover from her childhood, from a) growing up on a farm, where it was just a fact that you got up early, and b) having three sisters and one bathroom and not wanting to get stuck without hot water.

Thankfully, Meredith's house had a gas water heater, so running out of hot water was rare, but getting up early was a habit she'd still held onto – at summer camp, at college, in the apartment she shared with Reed and now here too. She liked having these few minutes of quiet in the kitchen – gave her some time to reflect and have a moment of calm – rare in this crazy household. And did she ever need that reflection time today!

Her eyes went a little unfocused as she thought back to the previous night – how incredible it had been. She could admit now that she'd been a tiny bit terrified at the beginning, but Jackson had been so wonderful – so caring – and he'd made her feel more desirable than she'd ever felt in her life.

April sighed happily and then jumped as she registered a voice saying her name.

"April? April!" Meredith was walking across the kitchen, but looking at her with an expression that managed to be both concerned and annoyed at the same time.

"Oh! Sorry - good morning – the coffee should be ready," April said hurriedly, gesturing towards where the coffeepot sat.

Meredith nodded as she grabbed a mug. "You okay? I said your name like five times."

"I'm fine, really. Just thinking."

"Hmm," Meredith replied, but had no chance to say more before Mark breezed into the kitchen, fresh from his shower.

"Good morning, ladies," he said with his usual grin.

"Morning, Mark," Meredith replied. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please. You got any travel cups? I need to get to the hospital early today, catch up on some paperwork." He took the disposable coffee cup Meredith handed him, poured himself a cup and popped a lid on it. "You're an angel."

Meredith laughed and shook her head. "April made it, not me," she said, pointing in the other girl's direction and Mark turned to look at her.

"In that case, Kepner, you're an angel."

April laughed. "Thanks, Dr. Sloan."

He nodded and turned towards the door. "Tell Lexie I'll see her at work. I told her myself before I came downstairs, but I don't know if she was really awake or not to hear me."

Meredith and April both nodded and he was out the door. April went back to her Cheerios while Meredith poured herself a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, Jackson ambled into the kitchen, still in his pajamas, and went straight to the coffeemaker. At the table, April felt herself tense up just slightly – this was their first test. Could they be 'normal' in front of everyone else?

"Thank God you get up early," he said to April as he poured a mug and turned towards the table. She glanced at him but he just smiled innocently. "Did you want some?" Grinning at the look on her face, he elaborated, "Coffee? You don't have any."

"Oh! Um, yeah, thanks," April replied, feeling flustered. "I just hadn't gotten up to get any yet."

"You are really out of it this morning," Meredith commented.

"Just tired," April said lamely, feeling Jackson's eyes on her and knowing better than to look at him.

"You should be tired, you were up late enough," Lexie said as she entered the room and the conversation. "How long did you stay downstairs after I saw you?"

"I – what? It wasn't that late," April protested, hoping Lexie wouldn't press the issue – or mention anything about the question she'd asked her about Mark the previous evening.

Thankfully, Lexie shrugged. "Whatever. Where's Mark?"

"Left for the hospital already," April told her. "Few minutes ago."

"Nice of him to tell me," Lexie grumbled as she poured her cup of coffee.

Meredith laughed. "He did tell you, he just wasn't sure if you were awake enough to hear him."

"Oh," Lexie said, mollified, as she sat down at the table and Alex joined the group in the kitchen, mumbling a greeting as he got a coffee mug. Jackson leapt up from the table, Lexie a split second behind him as she realized where he was going.

"Dibs on the next shower," he yelled over his shoulder at her, already at the stairs, and Lexie stomped a foot and sulked back to her place at the table.

"Damnit," she muttered. "Why I am always the last to get to shower? No matter where I live? This sucks."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Go use the master bathroom, Lexie."

"Derek's in there," Lexie pointed out.

"No, I'm not," Derek said as he came into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," he added, looking bemused, as usual, by the collection of people living in the home for wayward doctors his wife seemed to be running.

"See?" Meredith said. "Go."

Just as dramatically as before, Lexie's mood shifted and she jumped back up from the table.

"Finally, a perk to being your sister!" she declared cheerfully as she headed for the stairs.

"Like having a place to live isn't a perk?" Meredith called after her and Derek shook his head.

"I'm going to warm up the car," he said to his wife.

"Right behind you," she replied, putting her mug in the sink and following him out the door.

"Bye!" she called behind her and April waved, taking a sip of her coffee and then realizing – it was just her and Alex left in the kitchen.

She glanced over at where he was standing near the island in the middle of the room and took a deep breath. Being with Jackson the night before had been a huge confidence boost and had convinced her more than ever that Alex had not been the right man for her, but she felt the need to get some closure.

"Alex?" she said, sounding tentative.

He glanced briefly in her direction and then looked away. "What?"

"I – " she faltered briefly, trying to gather her thoughts and he rolled his eyes.

"Look, if you're about to lecture me about bringing Laurel home last night, you can save your breath; I don't need to hear it."

April looked taken aback and shook her head. "What? No, it's not about that that, it's about – well, look – we never really talked about what happened between us that day in the on-call –"

"Do we really need to?" he interrupted sarcastically and she glared at him.

"No," she said impatiently. "Will you just let me finish talking?"

He shrugged and April forged on, "I just – I owe you an apology, I guess. The blame for what happened shouldn't have been put all on you - I was warned, I knew you weren't the right guy for me and I should've known better than to mess around with you. That's all and I'm sorry."

"Oh," Alex said in reply, looking a little caught off-guard. Then he sighed. "Thanks for that, but it wasn't just you. I had a crappy few days and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. So, whatever – I'm sorry too."

April nodded and Alex stared into his coffee cup for a minute before setting it in the sink.

"I'm out – you want a ride?" he asked and April shook her head.

"No, thanks, I'll wait for Jackson," she replied. "And Lexie," she added, hoping he wouldn't catch the fact that Lexie was a total afterthought for her.

Alex shrugged again and headed for the door. "See ya," he said as he walked out and April found herself alone again for a few minutes.

She was jolted back out of her daydreams when Jackson reappeared in the room. He grinned at her as she stood up to put her coffee mug and cereal bowl in the sink.

"We the only ones left?" he asked and April shook her head.

"No, Lexie's still –" she interrupted herself with a slight gasp as he came up behind her at the sink, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her cheek – "upstairs."

"Damnit," he complained. "Can we ditch her?"

April laughed as she twisted her head around to look at him. "Only if you want to listen to her whine all day about how she got left at the house all by herself."

"Ooh, yeah, you have a point," Jackson agreed. "But we have a few minutes to kill until she gets down here, right?" he added as he lowered his head and kissed her.

"Jackson –" April protested half-heartedly even as she was turning around in his embrace and kissing him back. "This – is – not – a good – idea…" she mumbled against his lips.

"That's what makes it fun," he replied and she giggled before she heard Lexie's footsteps on the stairs and pushed him away from her.

Jackson made a face at her and grumbled, "You sure we have to keep this a secret?"

April just shot him a look in response. "Just for a little bit," she whispered as Lexie came into the kitchen. Maybe she was being irrational, but she just – needed a little time to absorb the whole thing. All she could do was pray that he would understand.

"You guys ready?" Lexie asked.

"Yep," Jackson replied. "I'll get the car started," he added, walking out the door.

April nodded as she walked away from the sink.

"Um, April?" Lexie said slowly.

"Yeah?"

Lexie gestured at the sink, where the faucet was still running. "You gonna turn the water off?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry," April replied as she rushed to take care of it and Lexie shook her head.

"Mere was right – you are out of it today. You feeling okay? You look flushed."

"I'm fine, really," April insisted and Lexie shrugged.

"If you say so. Whatever's going on with you, you better get it together before we get to the hospital or Bailey will take your head off."

April groaned. "Don't I know it. C'mon, let's go."

April took a deep breath as they headed out to the car. It was going to be a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note - I really was not expecting to get this next section done so quickly, but I guess sometimes you just get in a zone or something. So anyway, happy weekend bonus! If you like it, please let me know! :)**

Once at the hospital they hurried to the locker room to get ready for the day.

"Oh, hey, April," Jackson called after her as she and Lexie were walking out of the locker room.

She turned back to look at him and he motioned for her to come over. She glanced back at Lexie and said, "Go on, I'll catch up."

Lexie shrugged and kept on walking while April went back across the room to stand in front of Jackson.

"What is it?" she asked, suddenly wondering what in the hell he was up to, because he looked like the proverbial cat who ate the canary.

He reached back into his cubby, grabbing his jeans and pulling something out of the pocket. He reached for her hand, putting something in it as he leaned in close to whisper, "You left these in my room. I thought you might want them back."

April stifled a gasp as she realized what it was – the panties she'd been unable to locate that morning.

"And you're giving them back to me here?" she whispered – part of her irritated by it – and yet, part of her inexplicably a little turned on. "That doesn't really help the whole keeping it quiet thing!" she hissed as she quickly turned to her cubby and shoved them in her purse.

Jackson shrugged. "No one's in here but us," he pointed out and April had to concede the point.

"Yeah, but," she started to say in a lame attempt at protesting and he just grinned and she interrupted herself with a sigh.

"You are really getting a kick out of torturing me, aren't you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "April, it's just flirting. Being silly together, having a good time – it's what people do when they like each other. It's not a big deal."

"It is to me!" she snapped. The words were out of her mouth before she even thought about them and at the taken aback look on his face, she wished she could pull them right back out of the air.

"Oh-kay," Jackson said slowly, taking a step backwards. "Okay…"

"Crap," April muttered, sitting down on the bench. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"Now you're really going to think I'm crazy," she said, half laughing, half looking like she might cry. She knew she was acting like a fruit loop and it was only being made worse by the thought that if he had any sense at all, he'd run far away from the mess that she was.

Jackson laughed as he sat down next to her. "Come on, April. I've known you for how many years now? I already knew you were crazy," he said in a gently teasing tone. She smiled weakly at that and he continued, "So will you just tell me why you're so freaked out about this? Cuz you're acting like a high school girl or something and, to be honest, that's kinda freaking _me_ out."

"Huh," April said slowly, pondering his words. "That's actually kind of exactly it – I feel about fifteen years old right now. Everything I'm feeling right now – about you, us, all of it – are emotions I should have learned how to deal with years ago. But I've never felt like this before – and you know what last night meant for me – so, I don't know - I'm just really, really overwhelmed right now, okay?"

Jackson nodded. "Okay. I get that, I really do. But I'm still not sure I see the point of keeping it a secret – you're not going to be able to figure out how to deal with your feelings if you're too busy trying to hide from all our friends the fact that you've got something big going on. Besides, you may feel like a kid, but you're not. You're a grown woman – one who I happen to like very, very much and I don't want to have to hide how I feel about you. I want to be able to hold your hand when we walk into work, kiss you good-bye after lunch – is that too much to ask?"

April couldn't help but smile and shake her head 'no' in reply. "Jackson…that may be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me," she said softly.

A faint hint of embarrassment crossed his face, but he smiled back at her. "I mean it," he said sincerely, before adding, "And here's something else to think about – what are we gonna do at home? Wait for everyone else to go to bed so one or the other of us can sneak into the other's room?"

"I know, I know I'm being ridiculous," April groaned."Can you – please – just bear with me for a little bit? Just let me get my head wrapped around the whole idea, okay?"

Jackson sighed. "Okay," he agreed. "I'm not gonna force you to tell anyone and I'll keep my mouth shut until you're ready –"

"Thank y-" she started to say and he kept right on talking.

"BUT – two things – I hope you're ready sooner rather than later –"

April nodded.

"—and – I am not going to stop flirting with you, teasing you or kissing you whenever I have the opportunity, okay?" He flashed his sexiest, most confident grin and April felt her stomach flip over in that odd combination of anticipation, nerves and desire.

"Okay," she whispered as he leaned over, brushing her lips with his as he stood up and looked at the clock.

"Crap, I gotta go or Altman's gonna kick my ass," he said, moving quickly out the door, glancing back over his shoulder with one more grin before he was gone down the hall.

April shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and then rushed off to find Bailey before she, too, got an ass-kicking from her attending.


	6. Chapter 6

Late in the evening of that same day, Lexie sat down on the bench in the locker room, rubbing the back of her neck as she yawned.

"What a long day," she said with another yawn.

"Seriously," April agreed from the other side of the room where she was changing out of her scrubs. "And our ride is still in surgery, so we can't even leave yet."

"Ugh," Lexie said as she got up and began changing her clothes also. "Mark's not done yet either or I'd totally ditch you guys and go with him."

April laughed. "Of course you would."

Lexie shrugged. "So, we've got time to kill – let's go over to Joe's, have a drink and you can tell me why you've been such a basket case today."

"Lexie –" April protested.

"No, seriously. I mean, you were right last night when you said we weren't really friends, but it's obvious that there's something on your mind and I figure you don't really have anyone to talk to, so, whatever. I can be nice sometimes. I like to think I'm a nice person. C'mon, come with me, spill your guts."

April laughed again, considering Lexie's offer. She'd managed to make it through the day without making a complete idiot of herself, but she knew it definitely hadn't been her best day ever. She still wasn't sure if she was ready to say anything to anyone, but at least it would be something to do. "Okay, okay. Let's go to Joe's. I'm not saying I have anything to talk about, but I'll go to Joe's."

"Oh, please," Lexie scoffed. "You totally have something to talk about, it's obvious. So, anyway, text Jackson and tell him to meet us there when he's done," she instructed her as she picked up her purse. April pulled out her phone as they headed to the door, just as Meredith was coming in.

"Hey Mere!" Lexie said cheerfully and April glanced up from the text she was typing.

"Hi," Meredith replied. "Where are you guys going - didn't you ride with Jackson today? I didn't think he was out of surgery yet."

"He's not," Lexie replied. "We're going to Joe's while we wait for him – wanna come?"

Meredith shrugged. "Sure. Derek's not ready to leave yet either, so I'll let him know and I'll meet you there in a few."

April followed Lexie across the street to the bar, where they settled into a booth, picking up drinks on their way to sit down.

"Okay, so really," Lexie said once they were seated. "You have been a mess today. What gives?"

April shrugged, looking down and avoiding Lexie's curious gaze. "Really, it's nothing. Like I've been telling you all day, I'm fine," she insisted.

Lexie narrowed her eyes, thinking. "Okay, so in the kitchen last night, you asked me how I knew Mark was 'the one.' Are you stressing about the whole virgin thing again?"

April shook her head. "N-no. It's not that, exactly."

"Oh, it is something, then," Lexie said triumphantly and April groaned inwardly at her slip-up.

"It's nothing. I am not worried about being a virgin," April said firmly, thinking to herself that at least that actually was not a lie.

Lexie rolled her eyes. "Suuure you're not. Look, if it bothers you that much, just get drunk and find somebody decently cute here in the bar and take them home. Get it done with. You'll feel better."

April shook her head again. "No, I – I don't think so."

"Oh, God," Lexie said suddenly. "You don't have _another_ inappropriate crush, do you? I know you're all into trauma lately – you don't have a thing for Owen, do you?"

"_What_?" April asked, truly surprised by that question. "No! It's not – no!"

Lexie looked skeptical. "Then what is it?" she demanded.

No one was more surprised than April by what happened next. She opened her mouth to tell Lexie to shut up, to drop it and mind her own business and instead she found herself blurting out, "I slept with Jackson."

Lexie's surprise took a pretty close second – her jaw dropped and she just stared at April for a minute. "Wait, what?" she finally said.

"Damnit," April swore in response. "I-I really didn't mean to tell you that. Pretend I didn't say anything," she pleaded futilely.

"Yeah, right," Lexie laughed, seeming to recover her wits. "Really? You – and Jackson? When? Last night?"

April nodded. "Yeah…"

Lexie leaned back against the booth. "Oh my God. Wow. Well, that's awesome – good for you."

"What's awesome?" Meredith asked as she arrived at the table and slid in the booth beside her sister.

"April cashed in her V-card," Lexie said gleefully. "With Jackson!"

"Lexie!" April hissed as she felt herself starting to blush.

Meredith laughed as she looked at April. "Seriously? Lexie's right, that's great. And at least that explains why your mind has been a million miles away all day."

Lexie nodded in agreement.

April couldn't help grinning, even as she was still blushing furiously. "I know. I just couldn't concentrate at all – I can't stop thinking about it – him -." She sighed. "I feel so stupid," she admitted, "getting all distracted over a guy."

"It's not stupid," Meredith said. "We've all been there at some point."

"Totally," Lexie said. "Granted, most people are getting distracted from algebra class and not surgical procedures, but whatever, it's still totally normal."

"Oh, shut up," April replied, a little defensively. "I've seen enough adults act like fools to know it doesn't matter how old you are. At least I finally have a first-time story that's not completely lame, you know, by virtue of the fact that it's true. I mean, there's still the 'I was twenty-eight' part of it, but at least I have one."

The other two laughed. "This is true," Meredith said.

"So, how did it happen? Was it a one-time deal?" Lexie asked. "Or are you guys like, a thing, now?"

Meredith glanced at her sister. "What are you, reporting on the story?"

Lexie rolled her eyes. "I am trying to be nice and take an interest."

"You're being nosy," Meredith muttered.

Lexie waved a dismissive hand at Meredith and turned back to April. "Whatever. Tell us how it happened."

April couldn't help smiling as she tried to figure out how to phrase what had happened – she didn't really want to share the full truth. "We were just talking last night and then suddenly we were kissing and well – it just kinda went from there," she said simply. "We just –suddenly both realized how much we like each other. And yeah, I think it's for real," she admitted quietly.

Meredith smiled, suddenly snapping her fingers. "Ooh, I bet it is – remember how much shit he gave you about your stupid crush on Derek? Like, it almost bothered him more than it bothered me?"

April winced, recalling that terribly unimpressive chapter of her life. "Yeah…" she said slowly.

"He was totally jealous," Meredith declared. "He just hadn't figured it out yet."

"You really think so?"

"Yep."

"Hnh," April said, pondering the idea until Lexie interrupted her thoughts.

"Okay, so answer the really important question," Lexie said, looking a little devious. "We can all admit he _looks_ good – but _is_ he good? Was it worth waiting all these years for?"

April wouldn't have thought it possible, but she was pretty sure her face was getting even redder – she felt like it was burning.

"Lexie!" Meredith looked at April's bright red face. "April, you don't have to answer that."

April shook her head, sipping her drink and then taking a deep breath. "No, it's okay. I – just – I don't know if I can even find the words to describe it," she said, too over-dramatically to be serious. "It was just so unbelievably incredibly amazing," she added sarcastically, giggling at the look on Lexie's face.

Meredith laughed as Lexie scowled. "Fine, spoil all my fun," she grumbled good-naturedly.

April just tipped her glass in Lexie's direction and smiled, a little dreamily. "Suffice to say," she said quietly, "yeah, I think it was worth the wait."

Meredith shook her head. "Oh, you should see your face," she laughed. "You are so far gone."

Lexie laughed, nodding in agreement as she glanced towards the door and spotted Jackson entering the bar. "Oh, don't look now," she said, leaning conspiratorially across the table, "But here comes Loverboy himself."

"Lexie! Don't call him that!" April hissed just before Jackson sat down in the booth beside her.

"Don't call who what?" he asked, looking confused as Meredith and Lexie both burst into giggles at his question.

He looked over at April, taking in her red face and the fact that although she was looking in his direction, she was studiously avoiding letting her eyes meet his, and he suppressed a grin.

"Let me guess," he said dryly, directing his question at the Grey sisters. "She told you about us?"

"How ever did you know?" Meredith replied with a smile.

He shook his head. "Lucky guess." Jackson looked back over at April. "Now I realize why you wanted to keep it quiet."

April shrugged and couldn't help smiling at him. "It's okay. You were right, I do feel better."

"Good," he grinned, leaning over to give her a quick kiss, prompting the sound of throat clearing from across the table.

Lexie rolled her eyes. "You two are so stinkin' cute."

"I could barf," Meredith added, giggling again.

April ignored them and looked at Jackson. "Let's get out of here?"

"Absolutely," he replied, standing up and offering her his hand as she followed him out of the booth.

"Wait!" Lexie said. "You can't just leave us here – we have no car!"

"Sloan and Shepherd were like, five minutes behind me," Jackson told her. "Chill – they'll be here in a minute."

As he spoke, the doctors in question came in the door and Jackson looked pointedly at Lexie, as if to say 'I told you so.' She stuck out her tongue in response.

"Fine, go," she said melodramatically. "We can harass you later."

Jackson just laughed and April waved as they headed out of the bar, nodding acknowledgements at Mark & Derek as they passed.

Lexie got up and moved to the other side of the table so Derek could sit next to his wife and Mark slid in the booth beside her.

"Was I seeing that right?" Mark asked. "Were Avery and Kepner holding hands just now?"

"Yep," Lexie confirmed. "Apparently they're a thing now."

"Is this something new? How have I not heard about this?"

Across the table, Derek laughed. "You really are the biggest gossip in the whole damn hospital, aren't you?"

Mark shrugged. "Just like knowing what's going on, that's all."

"For the record, that's called being a gossip," Meredith pointed out. "But yes, it's very recent."

Mark nodded. "Hmm. So, anybody hear anything else interesting today?" he asked, rolling his eyes when they all started laughing and muttering 'gossip.'

"C'mon, Lex, let's go home," he said.

"Okay," she agreed. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Home sounds good to me too," Derek smiled and Meredith nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go home."


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter picks up at the end of the most recent episode. (side note? I had forgotten how hard it is to ship a couple that isn't show canon (yet?). While I like to keep my stories as plausible as possible, since the show seems to be heading towards a Jackson/Lexie dalliance, rest assured I will ignore and/or rewrite as necessary!) :) Anyway, in honor of Valentine's, here is some fluff and romance - enjoy!**

Jackson had just finished changing his clothes when April entered the locker room.

"Hey," he said with a grin. "There you are – I haven't seen you all day."

She grinned back as she crossed the room to her cubby. "Worried I got lost?" she quipped and he shook his head, reaching out to grab her hand and pull her towards him.

"Nah," he replied. "Just haven't gotten to do this since this morning," he said as he lowered his head to kiss her.

April giggled as she let herself melt against him for a minute before taking a step back. "Enjoyable as that is, _please_ let me get out of these scrubs."

"Okay," Jackson said agreeably, sitting down on the bench, eyes trained in her direction.

April shook her head as she turned back to her cubby and pulled her scrub top over her head. "I can feel you staring at me," she said, glancing at him over her shoulder.

Jackson just grinned at her as she reached for her shirt. "What?" he said innocently. "What's wrong with checking out your girlfriend?"

April suppressed a shiver as she let the word wash over her – they'd been a couple for just about a month now - but hearing the word 'girlfriend' and knowing it applied to her still gave her such a tingly feeling. She shrugged as she pulled her t-shirt on and replied lightly, "Nothing, I suppose."

"Okay, then."

April rolled her eyes, quickly changed into her jeans and grabbed her purse. "C'mon," she said, holding out her hand to him. He took it and she pulled, forcing him to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

Jackson slung his arm around her shoulders as they headed out of the hospital. "Still wanna go to Joe's?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Whatever – is no one else meeting us? I passed Lexie in the hall and she said you'd already asked but she was gonna skip it – said you could fill me in?"

"Yeah, she's had a pretty crummy day and everyone else seemed kinda 'meh' so, you know, I'd kinda rather just go home – I think we can probably have more fun there," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

April laughed. "Oh, I just bet you do," she said teasingly and Jackson laughed in response.

"I haven't seen you complaining," he pointed out.

"Well, I've got a lot of lost time to make up for," April replied, leaning into him as they walked towards the car – hers today, for a change. It was true, she had to admit, she certainly didn't object to any time they spent in the bedroom.

"So, what's up with Lexie?" she asked as she started the car and headed out of the parking lot towards the house. "Did she tell you why she came home so upset the other night?"

Jackson nodded. "Not in so many words, but I'm sure it must have been when she found out." He sighed. "Sloan's having a baby, apparently. I don't know how or with whom, but he just kinda sprang it on her and she seems pretty shell-shocked."

"Oh my God," April said. "That's awful! I wonder who the mother –" her voice trailed off and then she whispered, "Oh my God…"

Jackson glanced at her. "What?"

April shook her head. "I'm probably not supposed to say anything – but in the O.R. today Dr. Torres let it slip that she's pregnant. You don't think –"

"Sloan and Torres?" Jackson considered that for a moment. "I've heard that they had a thing at some point…maybe they hooked up while Robbins was gone?"

"What a mess," April said quietly. "Poor Lexie. I'd have been slamming doors all over the place too, I think."

Jackson turned in his seat to look at her. "Is that a warning?"

April laughed. "No. Well, not exactly. I mean, I'm your best friend and you're already sleeping with me, so we shouldn't have a problem on that front, right?"

Jackson chuckled. "I see your point." They were quiet for a minute and then he asked, "What about kids though?"

April flicked her glance towards him and then back at the road. "What about them?"

He shrugged. "Do you want them?"

"Um – not right now?"

Jackson smiled. "I figured that – I meant, like, ever."

April looked thoughtful. "I'm honestly not sure. I love kids, I do, but I just don't know. Maybe? When the time's right? I mean, I know the time is never right, but like, one of my sisters was only twenty-one and six months pregnant at her wedding. That's really bad timing, as far as I'm concerned." She laughed. "Sometimes I think that's part of why I held on to my virginity so long – it guaranteed I wouldn't have that happen to me." She glanced at him as she pulled the car into Meredith's driveway. "What about you?"

"Oh, it's definitely a someday thing for me too. I was just curious."

April nodded as she cut the engine and reached for the door handle. Jackson got out of the car and caught her hand as she came around the passenger side heading for the front sidewalk.

"Hey," he said softly as he pulled her towards him. "I didn't mean to freak you out with that line of conversation, okay?"

She nodded as he brought her in close against his chest. "Okay," she said quietly.

Jackson grinned. "You take everything to heart. Don't get me wrong – I love that – I love you – but I just don't want you to obsess –" His voice trailed off as he realized that she had gone completely still in his arms.

'_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod_,' her brain was screaming – yet outwardly she stayed silent and still – afraid of losing the moment – losing _the words_ he'd just said.

"April?"

She nodded.

"You okay?"

"I – I'm not sure," she whispered, deciding to risk it, because she had to know. "Did – did you just say –"

Jackson mentally flipped back through the last few minutes – what had he said? And then he froze – he hadn't even thought about it – the words had just slipped out without his even realizing it.

And then he grinned, looking down at her, meeting her eyes – she had tipped her head back, looking up at him, a little worriedly, and he nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I love you, April."

The smile that spread across her face at his words was quite possibly the most beautiful he'd ever seen, he thought, feeling a huge sense of relief.

"Really?"

He laughed softly. "Really."

"I – wow – oh!" she stammered, suddenly realizing she should say it back. "I love you, too," she grinned.

"I was hoping so," Jackson replied and she laughed as he leaned down to kiss her. Her arms wound around his neck as his hands slid up under her t-shirt.

April pulled away from him long enough to say, "Um, let's take this inside, okay?"

He nodded and they headed into the house and up to her room.


	8. Chapter 8

April smiled happily as she lay awake later that night. Jackson was sound asleep beside her, sprawled on his stomach, his left arm slung out over her waist as she lay on her side, facing him – watching him – too – well, it seemed like too simple a word to describe how she felt, but just – too happy to fall asleep. She just kept playing the moment from the driveway over and over in her head.

He loved her! She wanted to – scream it to the world at the top of her lungs, call up every guy who'd ever ignored her and tell them, hack into his Facebook page and change his relationship status to "Jackson Avery is in love with April Kepner" (if only Facebook had that as a relationship option!) – she wanted to do everything she could to make it really real and not just something she'd hallucinated in Meredith's driveway.

She couldn't help laughing a little at herself – she knew she was being totally crazy again. But she'd made it nearly to the age of twenty-nine without ever really having a boyfriend and she'd spent so many years focusing on her studies and then on her job that she'd kind of gotten used to, accepted even, the idea of being an independent single woman. She'd stopped expecting love to ever happen for her. Hadn't stopped hoping, of course - but hope and expectance were two very different things and the reality of love actually coming into her life had definitely been a little overwhelming.

April shook her head slightly, causing some of her hair to brush across Jackson's face. He twitched a little in his sleep and she held her breath, hoping he wouldn't wake up. He had an earlier shift than she did for the next week or so and she'd been crossing her fingers that her restlessness wouldn't deprive him of the sleep he needed.

Her hope was in vain though – he shifted onto his side and mumbled sleepily, "You still awake?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "I'm sorry; just can't sleep. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"S'alright," he replied, as he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness until he could see her in the dim light of the bedroom. "You okay?"

She nodded, not really looking at him, and he narrowed his eyes.

"April…"

She muttered something that sounded like "It's stupid" and he suppressed a sigh even as he smiled. He could have guessed she'd freak out over his earlier confession of love and it was both mildly annoying and totally endearing.

"Whatever it is, it's not stupid," he said softly. "Tell me why you can't sleep."

April sighed. "Because. I'm too happy and I can't believe that it's real. I can't stop thinking what if I fall asleep and wake up and this whole thing has just been some crazy dream." She let her eyes meet his in the darkness and half-smiled. "See? Stupid."

Jackson shook his head. "You're right, it is stupid. This is real, April – me and you. You're not dreaming. I'll prove it." He grinned and even in the dark she could see the mischievousness in it.

His arm was still draped over her waist, hand resting on her back, so he slid that hand south a little and –

"Ow!" she yelped, gaping at him in surprise. "You just pinched my butt!"

"Sure did," he replied, still grinning. "And you felt it. So you're not dreaming, right?"

April stared at him for another few seconds before finally starting to laugh. "That was sneaky," she said, a little indignantly, going to punch his arm, but he grabbed her hand before she could make contact, and pulled her towards him and then rolled her onto her back, his body covering hers.

"Desperate times, desperate measures," he shrugged as he grinned and leaned down to kiss her. April just smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss.

"When did you know?" she asked quietly as they broke apart. "That you love me, I mean."

Jackson thought about it for a moment before answering, "I don't know when I knew it for sure, but I know that I probably fell in love with you that very first night we were together, when we were still in the kitchen."

April nodded. "I think I've been in love with you since the night you punched Alex. I didn't fully realize it or even fully admit it to myself, but when I look back…the feeling was there."

"And you never would've said anything, would you?" he teased, kissing her again.

April shook her head vehemently. "No, of course not! Way too chicken for that." She smiled.

"Good thing I wasn't, then," he mumbled, kissing his way down her neck.

"A very good thing," April agreed, catching her breath as his kisses moved lower and talking became both impossible and unnecessary.

_~sometime in the next week or so, towards the end of episode 7-15 "Golden Hour" ~_

"Apparently Karev didn't want his floor seats – so – you interested?" Jackson asked, holding up the two tickets for Lexie to see.

"Actually, yes. Yes, I am," Lexie replied as they turned to walk back into the hospital. "But shouldn't you be taking your girlfriend instead?"

Jackson shook his head. "She doesn't get off till eleven."

"That is no explanation," Lexie said, looking at him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Have you not asked her or she's just not gonna try to get out of it?"

Jackson shrugged. "You know April and her work ethic," he said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Lexie looked dubious. "I don't know…it just doesn't seem quite right…"

She looked so troubled by the thought of going to the game with someone else's boyfriend that Jackson almost wanted to laugh. Instead he relented and admitted, "It's okay Lex – it was April's idea. She knows – we both do – that you're having a really crappy time right now and once I told her Karev gave me both tickets, she thought you might enjoy having somewhere to go where you can just have some fun and not have to think for a few hours. That's all. I swear to you she's okay with it."

Lexie looked taken aback. "Hunh. Oh. Well. That's really nice of her. That kinda sucks, actually."

Jackson looked confused. "Why?"

"Because. Now I have to feel bad about all the times I thought she was an annoying bitch," Lexie admitted sheepishly. "Sorry," she added.

Jackson nodded gravely. "Yeah. Yeah you do." He shook his head. "But it's not me you should apologize to," he added as he headed towards the locker room. "C'mon, let's go or we'll miss the tip-off."

_~ Several hours later ~_

"Hey," Alex said as he passed April at the nurse's station. "You didn't go to the game with Avery?"

April shook her head. "I'm here till eleven. I told him to take Lexie, get her mind off Babygate for a few hours."

Alex stared at her. "Seriously? You couldn't find someone to cover you? You sent your boyfriend out with another woman? You really do know nothing about relationships, do you?"

April glared at him. "I have a responsibility to do my job when I'm scheduled to do it. You should understand that – you gave up the tickets, didn't you? As for Jackson, I trust him," she said simply, grabbing the next chart she needed and heading down the hall, leaving Alex looking after her, shaking his head.

April made it through the last hour or so of her shift, trying not to let Alex's words or the implications of his words bother her even though she couldn't help but think about them. Was she an idiot for letting – telling – her boyfriend to go out for the evening with someone else? She finally headed home and flopped on the couch, half dozing, half watching the _Tonight Show_ and wondering why they weren't home yet. Jimmy Fallon had just finished his monologue when the front door finally opened and Jackson and Lexie came into the living room, Jackson perching on the arm of the couch, Lexie settling in a chair as April opened her eyes.

"Hey," he said quietly, leaning over to kiss her as she sat up.

"Hi – how was the game?"

"Good – Huskies won."

April nodded. "That's good."

"It was really fun," Lexie spoke up. "And –" she glanced at Jackson – "Can I talk to April alone for a minute?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "I'll be upstairs," he said to April, kissing the top of her head as he stood up.

April looked questioningly at Lexie. "What's up?" she asked, feeling a little apprehensive.

Lexie looked mildly uncomfortable. "I just – Jackson told me it was your idea for him to take me and I just wanted to say thank you."

April shrugged. "Sure, no problem."

"I just –" Lexie sighed. "Look, I know we haven't always gotten along or anything, but it was a really nice thing for you to do and it's probably more than I deserve. I just feel like – I should apologize for the times I've been bitchy to you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," April said, smiling in relief. "I know there've been times I've been a pain in the ass too. Maybe – we could put that all behind us and try to be friends?"

Lexie nodded. "Yeah, that could be good." They smiled at each other, a little awkwardly, and then Lexie stood up. "I'm gonna get to bed. Jackson actually gave me some stuff to think about, in regards to Mark – it was good to get a male perspective on the whole thing." She looked pensive, then shrugged. "Anyway – good night."

"Good night," April echoed, sitting there for a minute before heading upstairs to where Jackson was waiting for her. Alex was the idiot, she thought. She'd known she had nothing to worry about!


	9. Chapter 9

**My apologies for the long gap between postings! I was out of town for work and then had family visiting when I got back. Plus I needed to process that last new episode…suffice to say this is definitely now an AU story and my companion piece **_**Ever, Ever After**_** is officially a sequel. Anyway, as always, hope you enjoy!**

April jerked in her sleep, instinctively rolling toward the side of the bed where Jackson should be lying, jolting awake as her hand met empty space. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, struggling to catch her breath, shaking her head as she muttered to herself, "Just a dream. Just a bad dream."

She glanced at the clock, saw she still had another hour before she needed to get up and sighed as she lay back down, curling up on her side. It was amazing; she couldn't help but marvel, how quickly she had gotten used to sharing a bed with someone. After all the years she'd spent sleeping alone, she'd always figured she'd find it incredibly irritating to have to share that space. Instead, she'd been pleasantly surprised at how comforting, how –_nice_ – for lack of a better term - it was to have Jackson there beside her all night.

And now she had been unpleasantly surprised by how much she missed him when he wasn't there.

"Stupid hospital," she grumbled under her breath, rolling to her other side, debating whether it was even worth it to try to keep sleeping. "Stupid scheduling," she added as she threw the covers back and got out of bed, deciding to give up on getting any more sleep. Besides, if she didn't go back to sleep, at least she wouldn't have any more stupid dreams that involved her boyfriend making out – or worse - with someone else.

It really sucked, she mused as she went through her morning routine. She and Jackson had been on opposite schedules for a couple of weeks now and rationally, she knew she was being ridiculous, letting her imagination get away from her. She kinda hated herself, feeling like she was being the kind of girlfriend she'd always sworn never to be – jealous, clingy and insecure, at least in her head. She'd only been a girlfriend for a few months – it was way too soon to be a crazy girlfriend!

But it was hard – she'd barely even seen him in the last few weeks. He was working when she was sleeping – he was getting up to leave as she was crawling into bed. It was no way to sustain a relationship. And, yes, she knew it wasn't forever and that it was to be expected in their line of work, but it still sucked.

And, if she was being honest with herself, the thing that made it the hardest was that he and Lexie kept getting assigned to the same service. Intellectually, she knew there was nothing to worry about – Jackson was as trustworthy as they come and Lexie was her friend now, plus she and Mark were trying to work things out. But even the most rational woman could be a little irrational now and then. Right?

Sighing, April made a face at herself in the mirror and headed downstairs. Through the window, she caught sight of the mail truck and went outside to grab the mail, bringing it back to the kitchen table to sort. Some bills for Meredith and Derek, a magazine for Lexie, a catalog for Alex's ex-wife Izzie (it was amazing how long junk mail would keep coming!) – and then, a small envelope addressed to her, from her baby sister in North Carolina.

"Hunh," she said, talking out loud without realizing it. "What does Alice want?" She slit the envelope open and pulled out the note card inside.

"_Dear April –_ (it read in Alice's flowy, artistic script)

_I have wonderful news! Rob and I have decided to get married – next month, on the beach at the Outer Banks, Hatteras to be exact. I know it's short notice, but neither of us is interested in the big, fancy wedding thing – quick and simple is so much more our style. Anyway, I hope you can come – it won't be the same without my middle big sister! It's going to be small – just our immediate families, but Jackson's totally invited too – we're dying to meet him! Call me and let me know if you're coming!_

_Love, Alice_"

"Oh, God," April muttered, setting the note down on the table. A wedding. Her sisters. And they wanted her to bring Jackson? Like she needed that kind of pressure. Sighing, she shoved the note in her purse and moved to finish getting ready to go to work.

"Thanks again for switching days off with me," Jackson said to Lexie as they headed into the locker room at the end of their work day.

Lexie laughed. "It's not a big deal. You don't have to keep thanking me."

Jackson shrugged as she looked at him pointedly and continued speaking, "I still say you should tell her that you switched with me."

Jackson rolled his eyes. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation. "Like I keep telling you, the surprise is the whole point."

"Yeah, I know," Lexie said patiently, "But she thinks I'm going to the mall with her and I can't keep speaking vaguely about it. She's gonna start thinking that a) I don't like her anymore or b) that I don't want to go because I've got something going on with her boyfriend."

"What?" Jackson said, looking thoroughly confused. "Why would she think that?"

Lexie shrugged. "Because. You're her first boyfriend. The two of you of been practically inseparable since you got together until a couple weeks ago. And you've been stuck with me at work a lot in those two weeks. It's a natural leap."

Jackson shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea how you consider that a natural leap, but I'm not worried."

"If you say so," Lexie replied, in a tone of voice that indicated that she was entirely unconvinced.

Jackson made a face. "Look, just don't say anything, okay?"

"Don't say anything about what?" April asked, pasting on a bright smile as she entered the locker room.

"Meredith's bangs," Jackson said quickly as he stood up to greet her. "She doesn't like them."

"Really?" April said, looking quizzically at Lexie. "I thought you said they were cute."

"I – uh – reconsidered," Lexie said lamely, glaring at Jackson as April glanced at him and then looked back at Lexie.

"So, I'll see you in the morning?" April asked.

"Um, yeah, sure. Tomorrow," Lexie replied, hurrying out of the room, leaving April looking quizzically after her.

"Did she seem – um, weird to you?" she asked Jackson and he shook his head.

"No more than usual," he shrugged. "How are you – did you sleep well?" he asked as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

She shrugged. "More or less, I guess. I – um – need to talk to you about something later."

"Not now?" he prompted and she shook her head.

"Not now," she replied, wanting to put off the topic of her sister's wedding and the discussion of their potential attendance for later.

Many hours later, April trudged up the front steps of the 'frat house' and let herself in the front door. It had been a long day and she could only blame her exhaustion for the fact that when she walked in the living room and saw Jackson and Lexie laughing on the couch (her brain completely blocking out the presence of Meredith and Derek in the room as well), she immediately burst into tears.

Meredith and Lexie shared an alarmed glance as Jackson leapt to his feet, rushing to her side.

"April, what's wrong?" he asked. "What happened?"

She shook her head, waving him away. "Nothing. It's silly. Just forget it," she said, pushing him aside to head up the stairs to her room.

Jackson looked back at the other three, looking completely lost.

"Follow her, dumbass," Lexie hissed, fixing him with her best 'told you so' stare. He rolled his eyes in response and ran up the steps.

"April?" he said, knocking tentatively at the door as he opened it. She was sitting on the bed, swiping at her eyes with a tissue. "You okay?" he asked, taking a step into the room.

She shook her head. "I'm fine – don't worry about it. I'm being stupid."

"April – whatever you're feeling, it's not stupid. It's how you feel," Jackson said patiently, sitting down beside her on the bed.

She laughed at that. "Okay, so how I feel is stupid."

Jackson smiled. "Maybe. What's wrong?"

"I –" April faltered, really not wanting to confess her irrational jealousy and Jackson decided to take a guess.

"Are you – pregnant?" he forced himself to ask and her head snapped up in surprise.

"I – what? No! Why would you think –"

He shrugged. "You said earlier you had something we needed to talk about and you seem really hesitant to tell me what's bothering you, so I just wondered –"

"Oh. That. No, that's something else." April took a deep breath and then met Jackson's eyes. "Okay, look. I know I'm being irrational and I don't want to be 'that' girl, but I've been letting myself get eaten up with jealousy about all the time you and Lexie have been spending together lately and I just kinda – lost it. I'm sorry."

Jackson stared at her in disbelief. "Seriously? You've been jealous?"

April nodded miserably. "Out of my mind. I've been having nightmares. I keep dreaming about walking in on the two of you together - in the on-call room, in the shower, everywhere. I haven't had a full night's sleep in days." She laughed self-deprecatingly as she looked down. "I guess that helped contribute to tonight's meltdown."

Jackson reached over, cupping her face in his hand, forcing it back up so she was looking at him again. "April – I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's okay," she said softly. "I didn't want you to know how crazy I was feeling."

Jackson grinned. "How many times have I told you? The crazy is part of why I fell in love with you. Feel free to share it with me."

April laughed. "Okay," she agreed as he leaned over and pulled her into a kiss.

"I promise," Jackson whispered as they broke apart for a moment, "I'm going to make this up to you. You'll see."

April laughed as she kissed him again. "I'll be watching."


	10. Chapter 10

They broke apart as there was a tap at the door and then a tentative voice calling out, "It's Lexie…"

"Come in," April called back, sitting cross-legged on the bed as Jackson flopped onto his back beside her.

The door opened and Lexie entered the room, looking worried. "You okay?"

April nodded, looking chagrinned. "I'm fine. Just a long day combined with some raging irrational jealousy," she explained, hoping she was hiding how embarrassed she was by her behavior.

Lexie grinned. "I understand, I've been there." She shot Jackson a 'look' and he rolled his eyes in response. "Guess I don't need to say 'I told you so,' do I?" she asked him.

"Shut up," Jackson muttered and April looked quizzically at Lexie.

"Like I said, I've been there – boyfriend spending lots of working hours with another girl – it sucks," Lexie explained.

April groaned. "Am I that predictable?"

Lexie laughed. "Nah, just normal. Anyway, glad all is well – see you tomorrow. Good night," she said as she left the room.

"G'night," April echoed, turning to look down at Jackson. "So she tried to warn you, huh?"

Jackson nodded. "Guess I should have listened, but whatever." He shook his head and changed the subject. "So, in all seriousness, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh yeah – that," April said with a sigh. "Well – let's see, by the time I left the hospital, I had two voice mails from my mom, one each from my sisters Kimmie & Libby and _three_ from my sister Alice. It's like, what part of twelve-hour-shift do they not understand?"

Jackson laughed. "That is the nice thing about my entire family being doctors – they do get the schedule issues. But what's going on – is everything okay?"

April nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine, more or less. My sister Alice is getting married – I got a note in the mail today. I sent her a text to tell her I'd have to find out about my schedule and I'd get back to her about whether I'd be there or not and barely thirty minutes later, the barrage of phone calls began. It's exhausting."

Jackson looked perplexed. "What's the big deal – if she just got engaged, what's the big rush?"

April rolled her eyes. "Because Alice is – well, not exactly the rebel of the family, but she definitely marches to her own drummer. She's our artist, the unconventional sister. And so the wedding is in like three weeks, on a beach in North Carolina. No long, drawn-out planning for Alice, just everybody having to rush and juggle and re-arrange to accommodate what the baby girl wants."

"Wow," Jackson said after a moment of silence following her outburst. "Your sisters really stress you out, don't they?"

"Obviously," April replied dryly. Then she sighed. "I'm just so – different from them. Libby and Kimmie – although they took different paths to get there – are both pretty settled in the traditional wife and mommy roles. And Alice does her artsy, theatre, musical thing, but she's the baby, so it's okay for her to be flighty. And then there's me – always so serious, always so focused on school and now on my career – " her voice trailed off and she sighed again.

Jackson smiled up at her. "So? That's who you are and that's okay. That's who I fell in love with, right?"

April smiled back, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "You always make me feel better."

"Good," he said softly, pulling her down beside him. "Anytime."

"Really?"

He nodded as she sat back up and chewed on her lower lip for a moment before plunging ahead. "So – does that mean you're willing to come with me to the wedding?"

"Am I invited?" Jackson asked, giving the question consideration.

April nodded. "Oh yes. They're – and I quote – 'dying' to meet you." She made a face. "I think they really just want to see for themselves that I actually have a boyfriend, that I'm not making you up."

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, in that case, I guess I kinda have to go, don't I?"

April shook her head. "Please don't feel like you have to come. I know it's a big deal, traveling together and being my date to a family wedding – we haven't been dating that long and I don't want to come off like I'm pressuring you and –"

Her words were tumbling out, falling all over each other, and Jackson finally sat up, grabbing her shoulders.

"April. April!"

She finally stopped talking and looked at him. "Sorry, I –"

"It's okay," he said with a reassuring smile. "You've gotta calm down, okay?" She nodded and he kept talking. "I don't mind going, if you really want me to come with you."

She nodded again. "I really do," she admitted.

"Okay, then. If we can get the scheduling worked out, it could even be fun, taking a little mini-vacation, having some time alone – no roommates, just you and me and a hotel room –" Jackson's voice trailed off as he leaned over and kissed her.

For once, she didn't respond to his kisses and he looked confused as he pulled away. "April?"

"Yeah – about the hotel thing," she mumbled, looking miserable again. "Not an option…"

Jackson frowned. "Huh?"

"My parents are renting a big beach house – we'll have to stay with them. And I can tell you right now they will _not_ be letting us share a room." She made a face. "They'd like to believe that all their daughters were virgins till their wedding night. Libby's probably the only one who actually was." She frowned. "And I don't know that for sure. But anyway."

"Didn't you tell me that one of your sisters was pregnant at her wedding?" Jackson asked, confused.

April nodded. "Yeah, that was Kimmie. And never mind that Alice has practically been living with Rob almost since the day she got to school like four years ago." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I know it sucks."

Jackson shrugged. "It's okay. With your parents right down the hall, you'd probably be too freaked out to mess around anyway," he teased.

April blushed. "Shut up!" she said indignantly, swatting at his arm.

Laughing, he dodged the hit.

"You know I'm right," he said, and stuck his tongue out at her.

April just rolled her eyes, as she looked at him, trying to decide if she should voice the thought that had come into her head at that moment. She had to admit he was probably right – she was still a little shy about sex-related matters and definitely shy about taking the lead on them. He was grinning lazily at her, those gorgeous eyes fixed on her, and she decided, '_ah, what the hell_,' and she retorted, "Unless you're going to put it to good use, put that tongue away."

Jackson's eyes widened just the slightest bit as his grin got bigger. "Oh really? And just what would you consider good use?"

April felt her face flushing redder, but she convinced herself not to chicken out and pushed him down onto his back, straddling his hips as she grinned back and said, "What do you think?"

He laughed, pulling her down to him and kissing her as he replied, "I think I've got some ideas…"


	11. Chapter 11

**I know, ya'll, it's been about a hundred years since my last update. Sorry about that – I'll try to do better, but I make no promises – it's a busy time of year for me. Anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you think!**

April plunked her tray down on the cafeteria table and sat down with a sigh, staring at the sandwich in front of her and shaking her head.

"I don't think I can even eat this," she mumbled.

Meredith and Cristina, absorbed in their conversation across the table, barely even noticed her arrival, but from beside her, Lexie glanced over, mild concern on her face.

"You alright?"

April shook her head again. "I – I'm not sure."

"What happened?" Lexie asked.

April quickly glanced around the cafeteria and then admitted, "Stark just asked me out."

Lexie choked on the sip of drink she was taking at the moment and Cristina and Meredith paused their conversation, both of them turning to gape at her.

"What?" Lexie gasped out through her coughing fit.

"Stark?" Cristina asked, eyebrow raised.

"Peds Stark?" Meredith echoed. "Cranky, annoying Stark?"

April nodded, the expression on her face a mixture of misery and disgust.

"Ugh," Cristina muttered with a shudder and Meredith nodded in agreement.

"What did you _do_?" Lexie asked, finally having recovered from her choking fit.

"I told him I had a boyfriend!" April replied, sounding a little frantic. "And in my head, I was totally thanking God that it was the truth!"

The other girls couldn't help laughing at that statement and April rolled her eyes in response.

"Oh, shut up," she said. "It's just – ugh. I feel like I want to – I don't know—"

"Change clothes?" Lexie suggested.

"Take a hot shower?" Meredith offered.

"Drag Avery to the nearest supply closet and screw his brains out?" This from Cristina, who shrugged in response to the typical "really?" looks from the other three. "What? It's just an idea."

April blushed, but nodded. "Yes."

"Which one?" Meredith queried.

"All of the above?" April replied, looking thoughtful and then laughing with the others.

"Well," Lexie said, "You should have told him it's not appropriate, him being an attending and all."

April laughed. "Like that means anything around here? I'm the only one at this table _not_ involved with an attending."

"Oh yeah."

"_Are_ you involved with an attending again?" Meredith asked her sister and Lexie shrugged.

"Yeah – sort of, I think. I don't know. Probably."

"Well, can you figure it out before tomorrow night? And stay with him this weekend?"

Lexie looked confused, but before she could question the request, Alex joined the group, dropping into a chair at the end of the table and Meredith turned her attention to him.

"And you," she said, pointing at him. "Can you finally get yourself hooked up with 'that hot OB?'"

Alex made a face at her. "I'm working on it. Why do you care?"

"Because," Meredith explained," April and Jackson are flying to her sister's wedding tomorrow, so Lexie, if you stay with Mark, and Alex, if you can get it together with Lucy, then Derek and I could actually have our house to ourselves for once. And that would be really - nice."

"Oh, God," Lexie groaned. "Just clean off any community surfaces before we all get back, okay?"

Cristina laughed as April made a face and stood up to leave while Alex just rolled his eyes and stole some of Meredith's fries.

"I'll work something out," he said and Meredith smiled.

"Thanks."

"See you guys later," April said.

"When you get to that supply closet, tell Avery we said hi," Cristina replied, looking mischievous.

April blushed again. "Whatever, Yang."

April rolled her eyes as she walked out of the cafeteria. She never knew quite what to make of Cristina Yang. She found her incredibly intimidating and she was pretty sure Yang just found her to be an annoyance, for the most part. But she felt like she was getting better at holding her own with her, so that was progress anyway, right?

She really wasn't looking for Jackson. She was just heading back downstairs to find Hunt, her attending for the day, and then suddenly there he was, walking down the hall towards her, that fantastic smile spreading across his face when he spotted her.

"Hey," he said, slowing down and turning around to walk beside her.

"Hey," April replied, flashing him a smile. "Going to lunch?"

"Yeah," Jackson nodded. "Bailey finally set me free."

April laughed, glancing sideways up at him as they walked along, Cristina's suggestion echoing in her mind. PDA was really not her thing and, temporarily insane moment with Alex notwithstanding; she wasn't totally comfortable with the idea of sex in the workplace. And yet – somehow she felt like she had to do something to wipe out the image of Stark kindly, earnestly inviting her out to dinner.

They walked along in companionable silence and yet, Jackson knew her well enough by now to tell that she seemed to be lost in thought about something. He was just about to cave and ask her what was up when she suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him around a corner and down an empty hallway.

"What the –"

"Shh," April said with a grin before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head down to hers.

Jackson was surprised, but not stupid and he quickly responded to the kiss, pulling her in close against him.

April sighed happily as they broke apart and Jackson laughed.

"Should I even ask what brought that on?"

April shook her head as her pager went off. "I'll tell you later," she promised. "Suffice to say, I feel better about the world now. I gotta go – go eat before Bailey enslaves you again!"

He laughed and quickly kissed her once more before they ran off in their separate directions.


	12. Chapter 12

**It's short - but it also got written much sooner than I thought it would. So, there's that. Enjoy - and remember that reviews help keep me inspired! ;)**

"April," Jackson whispered, gently nudging her head off his shoulder. "Sweetie, wake up."

Groaning quietly, April sat up, stifling a yawn and blinking her bleary eyes.

"Are we there yet?"

Jackson smiled. "If by there you mean LaGuardia, then yeah, they just said we're about twenty minutes out."

"Damn," April muttered. "I was kinda hoping that somehow I'd slept through changing planes, renting a car and driving for four hours." She sighed. "This is why I don't go home very often."

"Come on," Jackson grinned. "This is a little more than just going home. Just a little further and more complicated, right?"

April rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. "I know what you mean," he said. "I don't go home much either. You just don't realize how big this country is till you're going from one end to the other."

"At least when you go home, you can get a direct flight from Seattle to Boston," April pointed out. "There are never any direct flights to Columbus from the west coast. I always have to change planes somewhere totally stupid – Kansas City or Milwaukee or something. Once my connection was in Atlanta. Explain that. How does flying a thousand miles further south and east make any sense?"

Jackson shrugged, trying not to smile at her indignation. "No idea. But it does seem counter-productive."

"Because it is," April declared as the plane began its descent.

They lapsed into silence as the plane landed and then they absorbed with grabbing carry-ons and jackets and getting off the plane and finding the gate for their connection to Raleigh-Durham. The trip had begun what seemed like years ago, with Lexie dropping them off at Sea-Tac before heading to SGMW for the night shift. The red-eye flight had put them in New York at just after six in the morning, Eastern Time.

April yawned as she settled into a seat in the waiting area.

"I know we're used to weird schedules and sleeping when we can and all that, but there's just something about traveling that's exhausting, isn't there?" she mused and Jackson nodded in agreement.

"I suppose if we'd actually slept yesterday afternoon before we left, that might have helped," he said with a mischievous grin and April laughed.

"Not my fault you won't leave me alone," she said lightly.

"Not my fault that you don't mind in the slightest," he shot back, still grinning, and she had to concede the point.

Jackson stood up. "If you'll sit here with our stuff, I'm gonna see if I can find some coffee. You want a cup?"

April nodded. "Please. It might help."

He nodded and headed off down the terminal. April turned to look out the window – the sun was just beginning to rise and some of the New York City skyline was visible.

Jackson returned to find her still gazing out the window and he smiled as he sat down beside her. "For all its faults, it really is a beautiful city."

"I've never been there," April confessed, turning away from the window and taking a coffee cup from him. "Dunkin' Donuts? You are the best."

He laughed. "Really – you've never been to New York?"

She shook her head. "Nope. This is the closest I've come, I guess." She smiled. "Not a lot of opportunity for an Ohio farm girl to go to the big city."

"Hmm. Well, we'll just have to come back and visit sometime," Jackson declared.

April tried not to let the mild surprise she felt at those words show on her face. Sometimes it still really jolted her to realize that he took their relationship as seriously as she did. "Really?" she couldn't help saying. "Shouldn't we make it through our first trip together before we start planning another one?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, smiling reassuringly. "But I think we'll come through this one okay."

April didn't look quite fully convinced, but she smiled back anyway. "I sure hope so," she said quietly as the intercom crackled to life and boarding for their flight was announced.

Once settled in their seats on the plane, April reached for Jackson's hand. "I know I've said this already, but I really appreciate you coming with me. It means a lot to me."

Jackson nodded, letting go of her hand so he could put his arm around her shoulders. "I appreciate you wanting to bring me," he replied.

April laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder and reaching for his other hand. "Okay," she said. "Enough with this mutual admiration society – we're starting to even make me feel ill."

Jackson laughed with her. "Definitely," he agreed as they turned their attention to the flight attendant and the safety demonstration, one step closer to completing their journey.


	13. Chapter 13

The flight to Raleigh was uneventful and by mid-morning, they were in their rented Ford Focus, rolling down Highway 64, the long, boring, mostly two-lane road that leads to North Carolina's Outer Banks.

April groaned as she stretched in her seat. "Aren't we there _yet_?" she whined, half-serious, half-jokingly.

Jackson laughed, glancing over at her from his place in the driver's seat. "We've been on the road over three hours. It can't be too much further. I hope," he added, rolling his neck from side to side.

April consulted the directions her sister had sent and nodded. "She says there're three bridges pretty much right in a row – the first one crosses the Intracoastal Waterway and then the other two connect the mainland to the first island and then to the island we're actually staying on."

"Weird to think about a chain of islands up here," Jackson mused. "You always think of that being like a Key West or Caribbean thing, ya know?"

April nodded again, glancing over the directions once more before turning her attention to the road in front of them, letting out a cheer as she saw the first bridge looming ahead.

Jackson laughed again. "That's the most animated you've been since we got in the car," he commented.

April looked sheepish. "Sorry – I'm just tired, I guess."

Jackson shot her a sidelong glance. "You guess?"

April rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, fine. I'm really nervous, okay? The closer we get, the worse it gets."

Jackson shook his head. "It's gonna be fine."

"I know, I know – but it's just – this is a really big deal, ya know?" She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Okay. I mean, it's not like you don't know how socially stunted I am – but you realize that you're like the first guy I've ever brought home?"

Jackson nodded. "Yeah…" he said slowly and April shook her head again, turning in her seat to look at him, eyes pleading for him to understand.

"I don't mean like, just home from college or home from Seattle. I mean – like, ever. No study dates in middle school, no awkward movie nights in high school – I didn't even have a prom date – I went with a group of kids from the science team," she explained with a self-deprecating laugh.

Jackson smiled reassuringly. "I get it, April, I do. It's a big, big deal. But it's gonna be okay. They're your family – they just want you to be happy. Besides," he said, flashing her an 'Avery sparkle' grin, "I am totally charming and they're gonna love me."

April laughed. "Oh, okay then," she said as they drove onto the last bridge and she picked the directions back up. "We'll make a left up here," she said, navigating them to the driveway of the Nags Head beach house her parents had rented for them to all stay in. In the driveway already were a full-size pickup truck and a mini-van, both with Ohio plates.

"Wow," April said as Jackson put the car in park and she unbuckled her seat belt. "This is amazing!"

The house was three stories, but looked like four, since it was up on stilts like most buildings on the hurricane and flood-prone coast.

"Who all's staying here again?" Jackson asked as they got out of the car and grabbed their luggage before heading to the front door.

"Us, obviously, mom and dad, Alice just for tonight, Libby and Eric and their baby, my nephew Matthew, and then Kimmie and Brett and their daughters, my nieces Lisa and Kate. Matt is ten months old and the girls are four and two."

Jackson counted it up in his head. "Twelve people? Where are we all gonna sleep?" He raised a suggestive eyebrow. "You sure they won't let us share a room?"

April shrugged as they walked up the steps to the door and rang the bell. "Dunno. Supposedly some of these beach homes have like sixteen bedrooms, so don't get your hopes up," she said with a rueful grin.

Before he could reply, the door was opening and a female voice was shrieking, "You're finally here!" as she exuberantly threw her arms around April.

April laughed, hugging her sister quickly before Alice took a step back and turned her attention to her sister's boyfriend.

"So – you're the famous Jackson."

He laughed. "I don't know if I'd say famous, but yes, that's me."

Alice smiled. "See? Just because I'm the flighty, artistic one, doesn't mean I'm not smart," she said to her sister and April laughed.

"Please. Like it was hard to guess."

Alice just smiled, reaching for April's tote bag. "C'mon, I'll give you the tour and show you your rooms."

April glanced at Jackson as they followed Alice into the house. "Hear that? Rooms, plural - told ya," she whispered to him and he just shrugged, smiling indulgently at the pleasure she took in being right.

Alice glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah, you know mom and dad – sorry."

"S'okay," April replied. "Where _are_ mom and dad? And everyone else?"

"Mom, Kimmie, Libby and the kids are at the grocery store. Dad and the guys are upstairs watching basketball, I think. Rob's up at his parents' place, waiting for them to get here, then he'll bring them down here."

"They have a house here?"

"Time share thing," Alice explained. "He's been coming out here his whole life – summers, spring breaks, all that. He's from southern Virginia, so it's not a big deal to get here."

"So that's why you dragged us all out here to the ends of the earth," April teased.

"It's only the ends of the earth when you move to the other side of the country!" Alice shot back.

April shrugged. "Seattle's got a lot going for it," she said simply, glancing at Jackson, who was observing the sisters' conversation with bemusement.

"Whatever…" Alice replied, launching into a tour of the eight-bedroom home. The first floor had a den area and three bedrooms, which were occupied by Libby, Kimmie and their families. The second floor was another four bedrooms, plus a game room. Alice, April and Jackson's rooms were on this floor. Alice showed them their assignments and they dropped off their luggage before heading up the third floor, which had the largest bedroom, the one Joe and Karen Kepner were using. The third floor also held the kitchen and a large dining/living area. Each bedroom had a bathroom attached to it, plus there was an additional half-bath in the third floor community area. It seemed like a huge house, but it definitely was a perfect fit for the group living in it for that weekend.

The third floor was also where they found April's father and brothers-in-law, watching a basketball game on the large-screen TV. April took a deep breath as they came up the steps into the room and unconsciously reached for Jackson's hand. He squeezed it gently and she flashed him a grateful smile.

"Daddy," Alice called out, "April's here!"

All three men turned around as Joe grabbed the remote and muted the TV. April waved awkwardly at Eric and Brett – she'd never been very good at interacting with them – as her father got up and came over to hug her.

"You made it, honey!" he said cheerfully before turning to Jackson. "You must be Jackson."

Jackson nodded. "Yes sir, Jackson Avery," he replied, shaking Joe's hand. April introduced him to the other men and they all settled onto the couch, making small talk and watching the game until the rest of the family returned from the store.


	14. Chapter 14

**Wow ya'll - when inspiration shows up, it really makes an entrance! This is like twice as long as normal, so I hope you enjoy it twice as much - let me know! :)**

Alice pocketed her cell phone and announced to the group, "That was mom – they're leaving Food Lion now and expect help bringing all the food in when they get here in about five minutes."

The guys all nodded, barely looking away from the game, although Jackson did glance at April, silently asking her what he should do. She shrugged as she stood up and Alice took over the situation.

"Okay," she said in mock exasperation. "Us girls will bring in the first load and then you all can come down and help and won't miss as much of the game, okay?"

There were smiles and nods all around and Alice and April rolled their eyes at each other as they headed downstairs. As soon as they were out of the room and walking down the stairs, April looked questioningly at her sister.

"Well?" she asked anxiously.

Alice grinned, knowing exactly what she meant. Despite the nearly six-year age gap between them, Alice and April were possibly the closest pair in the various combinations of sisters. April suspected that it had a lot to do with their similar personalities in terms of drive and doing what you loved. Although her work in science and medicine was pretty much the polar opposite of Alice's dedication to the arts, they both understood what it was like to throw yourself wholeheartedly into your work, your passion. She just didn't have that connection with her other sisters – Libby, frankly, was boring and Kimmie – well, Kimmie was a whole other story altogether. Most of the time, April didn't really know what to think about her boisterous, fun-loving younger sister. Maybe she was the anti-Libby – so not boring, she was exhausting. There was always some kind of drama in Kimmie's life.

"He seems great, April," Alice said in reply and April smiled, looking relieved.

"Really? You think Daddy liked him?"

Alice laughed. "_You_ really like him, don't you?" she teased. "You like him a _lot_."

April swatted her sister's arm. "Shut up," she muttered. "And yes," she admitted, cheeks tinged pink.

"Duh," Alice replied. "Oh, it's so cute to see you like this – I didn't think any guy would ever have an effect on you!" She ignored the dirty look April was giving her and continued, "Anyway – I don't know, it's only been like, twenty minutes. But he was pleasant and polite and he laughed at the appropriate moments, so that's good." She looked thoughtful. "You did warn him not to say anything bad about Ohio State, right?"

"Of course I did," April replied. It had been one of the first things she'd told him after the trip arrangements had been made. Their father's love for Ohio's largest university was pretty much legendary among their friends and family.

"He'll be fine then," Alice said cheerfully as they reached the ground floor. "Quit worrying so much."

April opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again without saying anything, knowing Alice was right.

"How'd you get to be so smart, little sister?" she asked instead as they sat down on the front steps.

Alice smiled. "Please. We all know you're the smart one, doing your awesome doctor thing."

April shrugged. "I don't know that I'm so awesome. I mean, I'm good, yeah, but I'm not spectacular, not like some. Some of the doctors I work with are so incredible. Even Jackson has had some - " her voice caught and her eyes clouded slightly as she recalled the terrible day when his quick thinking had quite possibly saved them all, but she shook her head to clear it of the bad memories and went on "—super-impressive, amazing moments."

"So?" Alice retorted. "Better to be a good doctor all the time, right? Instead of awesome sometimes and crappy other times?"

April laughed. "I think most of us just want to be totally awesome all the time."

"Well, even just good doctors still save lives and that's impressive to me," Alice said decisively. "It makes me feel a little frivolous, you know? You and Jackson, saving lives – me and Rob, dancing and singing – it kind of pales in comparison, right?"

April smiled. "No, not exactly. You're going to be teaching, giving those creative kids an outlet – sometimes that's just as life-saving."

Alice smiled back. "That's true. Guess you're at least as smart as me, big sister." She bumped her shoulder affectionately against April's and the girls laughed as another mini-van with Ohio plates turned into the driveway.

"Brace yourself," Alice whispered. "Here comes chaos!"

"Kimmie or the girls?" April whispered back and Alice laughed again.

"Both!"

Alice's warning was proven true as the van door slid open and Kimmie's daughters, four-year-old Lisa and two-year-old Kate, exploded out of the van.

"Aunt Alice, Aunt Alice," Lisa was hollering, "guess what? We got ice cream!"

"Awesome," Alice replied, grabbing both girls and pulling them into a hug and then turning them to look in April's direction. "Look who's here, girls! Do you remember your Aunt April? She came to visit you up in Ohio last summer?"

Lisa nodded, going to give April a hug, while Kate hung back, a little shy and too young to remember April from her visit nearly eight months ago.

"Hi girls!" April said cheerfully. "Hi Kimmie," she added, as her other younger sister emerged from the back of the van.

"Well, look who showed up," Kimmie replied, giving April a one-armed hug and then handing her some grocery bags. "I wasn't sure you really would."

April gritted her teeth, but smiled anyway. "I wouldn't miss my baby sister's wedding," she replied brightly as her mother opened the passenger door and climbed out of the vehicle.

"April, honey, you're here!" she exclaimed, hugging her daughter tightly. "Oh, it's so good to see you. How are you – how was the trip?"

"Long," April replied, waving at Libby, who had just gotten out of the driver's seat and was unstrapping her son from his car seat. "But good. We had good flights, the drive was fine." She smiled and impulsively hugged her mother again. "I'm glad we're here," she said as she and Karen walked to the front door.

"'We'?" Kimmie stage-whispered to Alice. "So the 'boyfriend' really did come along? He does exist?"

"I heard that," April snapped over her shoulder. "Yes, he's real. He's upstairs with Dad and Brett and Eric."

Kimmie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Can you blame us for being skeptical?" she muttered to no one in particular and Alice made a face.

"Kimmie." Their mother's voice was quiet, but with an obvious warning in it. Kimmie made a face right back at Alice and then grabbed some grocery bags, calling her daughters over and giving them bags with hot dog buns in them, so they could easily carry them upstairs.

The afternoon disappeared in the chaos of kids and food preparation and catching up. April was too busy to be nervous about everything and almost too busy to worry about Jackson. She'd have a moment of panic, glance over at him now and then and, sometimes he'd be watching her already and if he wasn't, somehow – maybe he could feel her eyes on him – he would look up, meet her eyes, and smile – and everything would feel okay again. It was a lovely feeling, she thought, to feel so – connected – to another person.

It wasn't until after Rob and his parents, Scott and Joanne, and his younger brother Tim had arrived and they were getting plates of hamburgers, hot dogs and other cookout essentials that she even had a moment to talk to him again.

"Doing okay?" he asked her as they sat down at one of the tables on the massive deck. All three floors of the house had porches wrapping all the way around, with doors from each bedroom, but on this top floor, the porch gave way to a beautiful sun deck, with plenty of patio furniture. It was only March, but it was still 70-some degrees and sunny. Rob had told them they were lucky – you never knew what you might get at the end of March at the OBX. Sometimes it was 40s and rain. April was grateful for the sun – Lord knows they got enough of rain back home.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's good. You? Everyone being nice to you?"

He laughed. "Of course. It's been fine."

April smiled. "I had a realization – that it was a really good idea to bring you to introduce to them when there's so much else going on. Mom and Dad are too focused on the wedding stuff and getting along with Mr. and Mrs. Carson to worry about anything else."

Jackson nodded. "That is quite possibly very true," he agreed. "Very smart of you."

She laughed. "Dumb luck, more like, but thanks anyway."

Libby and Eric sat down with them then and they turned their attention to eating their food and making small talk.

It was a beautiful evening and the house was literally on the beach, so the group stayed outside for quite some time. There were steps leading down to the sand from the deck and eventually the girls were ready to go down and play. Brett followed them down the steps and Libby took the baby into the house to be fed and put to bed, leaving the rest of the adults in peace.

"I'd like some coffee," Karen said. "Anyone else?"

Several of them nodded in agreement and April stood up, picking up some dishes as she did.

"I'll make it, mom," she said, cutting her off before she could protest or get up. "I don't get to see you very often – the least I can do is help out."

"I'll come with you," Jackson said, grabbing some more of the dishes and following her inside to the living room, past the dining area and through the swinging door into the kitchen.

April found the coffeepot and the coffee and set about getting a pot brewing.

Jackson leaned against the countertop, watching her with a grin on his face.

She frowned as she looked at him. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's just – you really can't help it, can you? Being the helpful one, running around doing tasks and stuff."

April shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I really can't. It's just how I am." She sighed, turning on the kitchen faucet and filling the sink partway with some soapy water. "Sorry," she added, not really sounding apologetic and he laughed.

"Sorry for what?" he asked. "It's not necessarily a bad thing – you've just gotta be careful, right? Don't get taken advantage of, don't stress yourself out." He crossed the room, coming up behind her and gently rubbing her shoulders. "This is technically a vacation, remember? Don't forget to relax."

She smiled, leaning back against his chest for a moment before turning her attention to the dirty dishes. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"Anytime," he replied, finding a towel and moving to stand beside her. "Here, if you insist on being clean-up crew, I'll help."

April smiled as she passed him the first clean plate and they worked in companionable silence for a moment. They'd gotten a pretty good routine going when she went to hand him a plate and it slipped right out of his hand, sliding back into the full sink and splashing water all over April.

She let out a small shriek.

"Oh crap," Jackson said, trying not to laugh. "I'm sorry – it was an accident –"

April pulled the damp t-shirt away from her body and wrung the little bit of excess water out of it. "Accident – sure –" she said, hiding her grin as she cupped her hand in the sink and sent some water flying in his direction.

"Hey!" he complained good-naturedly. "I said it was an accident…"

April nodded. "So now we're even, right?"

Jackson grinned and shook his head. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said slowly, leaning across her to reach the water.

She shrieked again, trying to duck, twisting away from him, but he grabbed her arm with his other hand, pulling her back around to face him. Their eyes met, that self-assured grin of his spreading across his face and the next thing she knew, she was in his arms, kissing him as if her life depended on it.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed herself against his chest, his hands tangled in her hair as he pushed her back against the kitchen counter.

April dropped her arms, just for moment, so she could push herself up onto the kitchen counter and wrap her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Somewhere, in some tiny, far-off corner of her brain, a small voice was wondering what the _hell_ she was doing, but that little part was totally over-ruled by the way she felt when Jackson was kissing her, the way that being that close to him was still so intoxicating she simply couldn't think straight.

Her arms snaked back around his neck as one of his hands slid up under her t-shirt and he moved from kissing her lips to kissing his way down her neck.

And that's when the kitchen door opened and her mother walked in with more dirty plates, Kimmie right behind her.

"Did you find the coffee mugs, Apri –" her voice trailed off as she took in the scene in front of her.

"Oh. Em. _Gee_," Kimmie exclaimed, sounding obviously delighted.

Jackson took just the slightest step back, keeping his eyes on April, who immediately went totally still at the sound of Karen's voice. She couldn't look at her mother and certainly didn't want to see the look of undisguised glee on Kimmie's face. She let her head fall forward until her forehead was touching Jackson's shoulder.

He was the only one who could hear her as she muttered, "_Shit_."

"I think the coffee's done," Karen said calmly, crossing the kitchen to the cabinet where the mugs were. Pulling out enough mugs, she handed some to Kimmie and carried the rest herself. "Go ahead and bring the carafe outside. There's sugar on the counter there and cream in the fridge." With that, she pushed Kimmie through the kitchen door and went back outside.

April looked shell-shocked as she slowly slid off the counter, Jackson's hand still on her waist, steadying her.

"I – we – wha – what just happened?" she asked, sounding confused.

Jackson shook his head. "She's your mother," he replied. "Is that how she does things? Just sweeps it under the rug like that?"

April shook her head. "No, not really. I – that was weird." She stood there for a minute and then shook her head as if clearing out cobwebs. "Okay, we better get the coffee out there before she comes back." She grabbed the carafe and Jackson followed her back to the porch, hoping this wouldn't become a blight on what had so far been a pleasant weekend.


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm not feeling overly confident about this one, so I hope it works for you. We'll see - let me know!**

Back on the deck, the evening rolled on as pleasantly as before. April avoided meeting her mother's eyes, but nothing in Karen's face seemed to indicate that she was angry or upset. It was quite possibly going to make April crazy, wondering if and when her mother would say something. She knew it wouldn't be here, in front of everyone, but that didn't mean that a lecture couldn't come later.

The smirks Kimmie kept throwing in her direction didn't help either. April spent the next couple hours glaring back at her sister and consciously avoiding being too close to Jackson. For his part, he knew April well enough by now to know to just step back and let her process the situation before attempting to help her.

The sun had long since set by the time the Carsons said their goodbyes, Alice following them out to the car.

When she returned, she clapped her hands a couple of times and said, "Okay! Who wants to go down and see my dress?" She grinned. "And when I ask 'who wants,' I really mean, 'the presence of all my sisters is required,' okay?"

The other girls laughed as they pulled themselves up out of their seats and followed Alice inside. Jackson got up too and Kimmie shook her head at him.

"No boys allowed!" she sing-songed and he laughed politely as April shot another glare at Kimmie.

"I figured," he replied. "I'm going to check my email – your dad said the house had Wi-Fi?"

Kimmie nodded as Jackson turned to April. "Lexie's supposed to send me some patient updates – anyone you need to check on?"

April shook her head. "No, I was with Dr. Hunt this week and thankfully, no major traumas came in yesterday, so I'm good. But thanks," she added, smiling at him. "I'll come by and say good night after the fashion show," she added quietly.

Jackson chuckled. "Sounds like a plan," he said, turning to walk into his room as April followed the other girls down the hall to Alice's room.

They were barely in the room before Kimmie pounced. "Oh, my God," she said dramatically to April. "I cannot _believe_ you!"

April rolled her eyes in response. "Oh, shut up, Kimmie," she snapped before asking in a worried tone, "Did mom say anything?"

Kimmie shook her head. "Nothing except to not talk about it in front of everyone."

Libby and Alice looked completely lost. "What happened?" Libby asked.

April felt her face turning red again as Kimmie explained, "Mom and I walked in on her and Dr. Man Candy totally going at it on the kitchen counter earlier."

"Kimmie! Don't call him that. He's a lot more than just a pretty face and also, he has a name," April snapped.

"Whatever," Kimmie shrugged.

Alice grinned at April. "Seriously, this happened?" When April nodded, she continued, "Wow. You really, really, _really_ like him."

April groaned as she flopped on her back on the bed. "We covered that already this afternoon." She sat up and looked at Kimmie, who had curled up in the armchair on the other side of the room. "Seriously, Kimmie. How bad did it look?"

Kimmie felt a flicker of sympathy for her sister – this was new to her. She, on the other hand, had been caught 'making out' with boys since she was five and wrestled a boy in her kindergarten class to the ground so she could kiss him. Still, she couldn't help grinning as she said, "Sorry, sis. His hand was on your boob – it was totally obvious."

"Crap," April muttered. "I didn't even realize – I just – I can't think straight when I'm around him like that –"

Kimmie laughed. "So you are normal after all."

"Shut _up_, Kimmie. What is that supposed to even mean, anyway?"

Kimmie shrugged. "Just that it's normal. You like him – he likes you – and, dude, he is a serious hottie. If he was all up on me like he was on you, I don't think my brain would work either."

April wasn't sure she cared for the look in Kimmie's eye as she said that. "Back off," she said warningly.

Kimmie held up her hands in mock surrender. "Just looking. That's all." She made a face. "You've gotten feisty since we saw you last. I don't know if I like it."

April rolled her eyes again. "Well, you know, Kimmie, I've been through a _lot_ in the last year or so. I'd be surprised if it _hadn't_ changed me and am I really supposed to care whether you like it or not, anyway?"

Kimmie blinked in surprise, taken slightly aback by her sister's snappish response and she snapped back, "What, exactly, have you been through?"

April ignored her, but Kimmie continued. "Falling in love?" she asked, putting a sarcastic, vaguely scornful twist on the word love. "Newsflash, April – I know it's special to you and you're _so_ happy, but it happens every day, all over the world. Not such a big deal. No need to be obnoxious about it."

At that, Libby apparently decided it was time to act on her role as oldest sister and attempted to intervene.

"Kimmie," she said sharply. "Cut it out."

Kimmie rolled her eyes as April shook her head. She had had it. "No, Lib, it's okay," she said quietly, standing up and turning to look at Kimmie. "No, Kimmie. Falling in love is not exactly what I've been through. I feel like it's something that I'm lucky to have had happen. You want to know what I've been through?

What I've been through is tripping over my best friend's body after she's been shot to death and landing in her blood. Staring down the barrel of the same gun that killed her. Seeing our chief of surgery get shot in front of me. Holding his wife's hand, futilely trying to keep her out of the OR while her best friend operated on him. Hearing Jackson be the most amazing, smartest, fastest thinker on his feet _ever_. Realizing that I was completely useless during the worst crisis I've ever been in in my _life_ and knowing that I had to change that. I never want to feel that helpless again, okay?"

Without realizing it, April's voice had been rising throughout her rant until she was pretty much yelling. "So excuse me for being a little feisty or for being 'so happy' – a year ago I thought I might die without ever having been in love or being loved back. So yes, I am going to savor and revel in my happiness because I know all too well that it can be taken away in a heartbeat. And if that's a problem for you, well that is just too damn bad!" And with that, she sat back down on the bed and promptly burst into tears.

The other three Kepner girls sat in stunned silence. None of them had had any idea what their sister had actually been through – they knew there had been a shooting at the hospital, of course, and that Reed and other friends had died. But they had never heard any of the other details – April had refused to talk about it when she had come home a few weeks afterward.

"April – " Alice started to say, starting to move towards her sister, but before she could there was a knock at the door and she turned to open it.

"Everything okay in here?" Jackson asked, looking concerned as he stepped into the room. "I could hear the yelling all the way down the hall –" he cut himself off as April stood up, stumbled towards him and locked her arms around his waist, sobbing against his chest.

"The hell?" he muttered before putting his arms around her, rubbing her back and making soothing nonsense sounds into her hair. When she had calmed down, he asked, "What happened?"

She shook her head, not yet ready to talk and he looked helplessly at the other women in the room. "Anyone want to tell me what's wrong?"

Kimmie spoke up, a genuine look of consternation and concern on her face. "It's my fault – I was giving her a hard time about you and I pushed it too far. She snapped, told us about the awful things that happened during that shooting you had last year -"

Jackson groaned, understanding immediately. "Crap," he muttered, taking a step back and holding April's face in his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. "April, sweetie, listen to me. It's okay, remember? It's okay now, I promise. It's over."

She nodded shakily, reaching up with one hand to wipe at her eyes and then putting that hand over Jackson's and smiling weakly. "I know, I'm sorry. I just –" she turned to look at her sisters. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to go into all of that."

"It's okay," Alice said with an encouraging smile and Libby nodded.

"Alice is right – it's okay. I think you're certainly allowed to get upset about all of that."

Kimmie took a step forward towards April. "I'm sorry too. I know I can be a bitch, but I shouldn't have given you such a hard time. I really am glad you're happy," she said, tentative smile on her face.

April nodded. "Apology accepted," she replied, sniffling just a bit as she hugged her sister.

Jackson shook his head. "I will never understand you women," he declared and all four of the Kepner girls laughed.

April turned back to him and smiled.

"You're sure you're okay?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yeah – thanks."

Jackson pulled her to him for another hug, kissed the top of her head and nodded to her sisters. "Ladies – good-night."

"Good-night," they echoed as he left the room.

"You really are lucky," Kimmie said, sounding wistful.

"I know," April said seriously, wiping at her eyes again. "Okay, Allie, sorry about that! Let's see the dress!" she said, forcing a cheerful tone into her voice.

Alice smiled. "I thought you'd never ask," she said with a laugh, opening the closet with a flourish.

They oohed and ahhed appropriately over the simple white sundress, done in the style of a 1950s-esque party dress. It was perfect for Alice and her simple oceanside ceremony.

A few minutes later Karen stuck her head in the doorway. "It's getting late, girls, and it's a big day tomorrow." She looked at Kimmie. "Brett just took the girls in to get ready for bed."

"Ugh," Kimmie replied, dragging herself out of the armchair. "Guess I better go help him with my darling little monsters," she said, heading out of the room after good-nights were said, Libby following behind her.

"April," her mother said quietly. "I'd like to speak with you in your room in a minute, please."

April nodded, hugging Alice and heading out, trying not to feel queasy. She quickly changed into Capri-style pajama pants and matching t-shirt before sitting down cross-legged on the bed to wait for her mother.


	16. Chapter 16

It seemed like no time – but also forever – before her mother entered the room.

"Mama, I –" April immediately started to say, unconsciously reverting to her childhood use of 'mama.'

Before she could get any more words out, Karen held up a hand and April shut up.

With a sigh, Karen sat down beside her daughter. "I'm not mad," she said finally after a few moments of silence.

"I'm sorry, I know it was inappropriate – wait, what?" April replied, confused, her mother's words taking a minute to sink in.

Karen couldn't help but let a small smile creep on her face. "Yes – your behavior at that moment was inappropriate. There is a time and place for everything. But I'm not mad."

April didn't really know how to respond to that. She opened her mouth, closed it again and then finally asked, "You're not going easy on me because Alice told you what just happened, are you?"

"She did mention that things got a little heated between you and Kimmie," Karen said carefully and April nodded.

"That's one way to put it…" she said ruefully. "But you know how Kimmie and I work each others' nerves."

Karen laughed, recalling some of the screaming matches she'd refereed over the years. "Yes, I'm all too aware. But I'm not going to lecture you over that either – the two of you are adults – you can figure out for yourselves how to survive each other as sisters and maybe even how to be friends." She looked at her daughter, concern evident on her face as she studied April's face, which still bore evidence of the tears she'd been shedding a few moments before. "She also mentioned," Karen said gently, "that you shared a little bit of what happened to you last year and that that seemed more upsetting than anything else."

April nodded. "Yeah." She didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to rehash any of it again – the things she'd said to her sisters had been draining enough. When she'd come home to visit the previous summer, she hadn't shared any real details with her parents either – it had been too hard to even think about it, let alone talk about it with anyone who hadn't been there.

Karen seemed to understand that, as she didn't pursue that topic of conversation, but rather just nodded, looking sympathetic, before speaking again.

"Alice also mentioned," Karen began and April laughed quietly, interrupting her.

"Alice had a lot to say, didn't she?"

Karen smiled. "You know Alice." April nodded and Karen continued, "She said that Jackson heard the yelling from down the hall and came to check on you all. She was pretty impressed with how much he seems to care about you."

April couldn't help but smile at that.

"I have to say that I agree with her. Jackson does seem like a very good, decent kind of man."

"He really is, mom," April said earnestly. "He's just - he's so -." She fell silent, trying to figure out how to put into words what Jackson meant to her, how to explain to her mother how good a guy he was. "He's the kind of guy who - he – last summer, after – after what happened – he slept on his couch for weeks and let me have his bed – be-because I – I couldn't stand to be in my apartment." She shook her head at herself. "I know it sounds kind of extreme to say, but I don't think I would have made it through without him." She looked shyly at her mother as she admitted, "I never really imagined that being in love would be _so_ amazing."

"In love," Karen echoed quietly. "Those are big, important words, particularly when you haven't been dating him for very long. I thought it had only been a few months?"

"It has," April replied, sounding serious. "But we were just friends for so long before we realized there was anything else between us. More than anything else, he's my best friend and he was that for a long time before our relationship ever became – phy – romantic." April cringed inwardly as she caught her slip, stopping herself just short of saying the word 'physical.'

Her mother caught it too and smiled wryly. "April, it's okay. Believe it or not, your dad and I are not as naïve as you girls like to pretend we are. And I'm not sure where you all got the idea that we expected you to stay virgins till your wedding nights." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Well, I never expected that – your father, I think, would like to believe that our grandchildren were hatched, but that's a whole other issue." April couldn't help but giggle at that and Karen smiled as she continued. "I'm more of a realist - all I ever wanted was for all four of you to respect yourselves and to be careful – with your hearts and your bodies and to wait for someone who loves and respects you. It seems like you've done that and for that, I'm proud of you."

April nodded, blushing, as her mother sighed. "It is hard to realize sometimes that you girls are all grown up - falling in love, getting married, having children – sometimes we just want you to be our little girls again."

"Sometimes I kinda want that too," April agreed. "Being a grown-up is hard!"

Karen laughed at that. "That it is, my dear. That it is. But I like to think that we've raised good girls who are equipped to handle those grown-up challenges." She sighed again, but smiled as she added, "Yes, even Kimmie. My wild child has settled down just enough to be an amazing mother to her girls."

April nodded as her mother went on to say, "And you, my serious scholar of a daughter – well, it's nice to see you so – lit up inside - about something besides school or your career. Ultimately, we just want all you girls to be happy. It seems like Jackson makes you happy."

April nodded. "He does, mom. He really does. He makes me feel – so special, like I'm the only girl in the world. I've never felt anything like it."

Karen smiled indulgently at April's gushing. "I'm glad to hear that. However," she said, narrowing her eyes and looking pointedly at her daughter, "That being said –I know it can be far too easy to get swept up in the – magic – and – well, passion – of love and attraction. But I do not want to ever again walk into the kitchen – or any other public room in this house or any other house - and have to see exactly _how_ he makes you happy, understood?" she said sternly as April's face turned beet red.

"Yes, ma'am," she managed to choke out, cheeks burning.

Karen kept her smile to herself as she leaned over to give April a hug. "I'm not trying to embarrass you, honey. Just a reminder that there is a time and place for everything, okay?"

April nodded. "No making out in the kitchen – got it," she said, attempting to lighten the situation."

Her mother smiled back. "Or the living room."

"Deal," April replied, falling silent for a moment and then screwing up her courage to ask, "Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"If it's not that you wanted us to all wait for marriage, but just for a man who loves and respects us – then why can't Jackson and I share a room? Why is it different for Kimmie and Libby just because they're married? I mean, Kimmie knew Brett for less than a year before she was pregnant and married to him – I've known Jackson for _years_. What's the big deal?"

Karen looked a little surprised by the question, but before she could answer, April rushed on, saying, "It's not even like we'd do anything. It's just – I – well; I sleep better when he's there. It makes me feel safe."

Karen was quiet for a minute, not really sure how to respond to the question. It was more her husband who felt strongly about separate rooms for unmarried couples and she didn't want to not support him. However, she was also no dummy – she knew April lived in the same house with Jackson. It was no long shot to assume they were also sleeping in the same bedroom.

Karen sighed, choosing her words carefully as she spoke. "We'll put it this way, dear. Once I've gone upstairs to bed, I'll have no idea who sleeps where. Should anyone choose to make changes to the sleeping arrangements, I would suggest they get up early enough that no one comes to wake them up and finds anyone where he or she ought not to be."

April nodded. "Got it," she said quietly. "Thanks, mom."

Karen smiled. "Thank _you_, honey. To you and Jackson both, for rearranging your schedules, shuffling your patients, traveling all this way to be here. It means a lot to me and your dad and I know it means so much to Alice to have you here."

April nodded and Karen patted her knee before giving her one more hug. "Get some sleep – I know you're tired."

April nodded, hugging her back before watching her leave the room. She knew her mother was right – she should be going straight to bed, but she was too wired now. It had been an emotional roller-coaster over the last couple of hours and she knew there was no way she'd fall asleep now.

Sighing, she wandered over to the sliding glass door leading out to the porch. The cool night breeze coming in off the ocean caused her to shiver, so she turned back into the room and dug in her suitcase for a hoodie, pulling it on as she stepped out on the porch and leaned on the railing to gaze out at the ocean.


	17. Chapter 17

In his room, Jackson was just finishing up a game of computer solitaire when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of April stepping out on the porch. Closing his laptop, he quickly crossed the room to open the sliding glass door.

She jumped; startled by the sound of the door, but as she turned towards the house, her whole body visibly relaxed when she realized it was him.

"Hey, sorry," he apologized, crossing the porch to stand beside her. "Didn't mean to scare you."

April shook her head. "S'okay. Just startled me, that's all."

Jackson nodded, following her gaze to look out at the vast expanse of the Atlantic in front of them.

"Crazy, isn't it?" April asked rhetorically. "To think that less than twenty-four hours ago, we were by a completely different ocean thousands of miles away?"

"Miracles of modern technology," he replied absently as he glanced down at her. She looked up and smiled, but her eyes seemed far away.

"You okay?" he asked quietly and she nodded as she turned towards him and then caught him off guard by giggling a bit.

"What's funny?" he asked, confused.

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head at herself. "I just saw your shirt and thought, God, do we own any casual clothes that don't have the hospital name on them?" she explained, gesturing at his long-sleeved 'Property of Seattle Grace Mercy West Surgical Dept' t-shirt and then pointing at the SGMW logo on the upper left of her sweatshirt.

Jackson laughed. "Chief Webber would be proud of us, advertising to the ocean and the birds."

April laughed and nodded in agreement. "Anyway," she said, "to answer your question, yeah, I'm okay. Had a long talk with my mom."

"How'd that go?" Jackson asked. "I mean, you're standing here, so she obviously didn't kill you, but..."

April looked thoughtful. "It was actually really good. I guess one of the downfalls to basically leaving home at eighteen is that you don't get the opportunity to know your parents as an adult and, as it turns out, my mom's really kinda cool."

"Good. That's good, right?"

April nodded before giving him a slightly mischievous look. "She said she's glad you make me happy, but that she doesn't want to _see_ how you make me happy. So no more attacking me in the kitchen, okay?"

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's my fault? I believe you were the one who kissed me first."

April shrugged. "Only because you were looking at me - with those eyes of yours – and well, I just can't be held responsible," she sighed dramatically, grinning at him.

"You mean like this?" he asked, gazing at her with a smoldering look and she burst out laughing.

"No," she gasped out between giggles, "because I know that's the look you use when you're totally full of shit and just trying to get ahead."

"Busted," he agreed cheerfully, his face softening as he looked at her, her smile lighting up her whole face, her eyes sparkling. She looked up at him, watched his face change. It did her in every time – made her stomach fluttery with desire, made her feel like she couldn't remember her own name. When he looked at her like that, what he felt for her so obvious in his eyes – she was a goner. Couldn't help it.

"Oh," April said softly, "there it is. That's the look…" Unconsciously, she stepped towards him.

"Yeah?" he replied, voice just above a whisper as he pulled her into his arms, brushing his lips over hers.

She sighed happily as she wound her arms around his neck, her body melting against his as the kiss continued until, reluctantly, she broke away from him, taking a step back.

"Sorry," she said with a less-happy sigh. "I promised my mom we'd behave."

"Damn," Jackson replied, sounding half-serious.

April laughed, pulling him towards the whicker love seat and sitting down. "I know. I'm a rule-follower, I can't help it."

Jackson nodded, putting his arm around her as she curled up next to him, snuggling into the crook of his arm. "S'alright. It's being respectful in your parents' house – I get it." He looked contemplative for a moment and then he gestured towards the beach. "We could go down there – do it on the beach." He grinned. "Then you'd know for sure why none of us believed your first-time story."

April made a face. "You know that bringing up my fake virginity-loss story is not gonna get you anywhere, you get that, right?"

"Yeah, sorry. Forget I said that," Jackson said, looking sheepish.

"Maybe next beach trip," April mused. "Or, well, next beach trip where my entire family is not in attendance."

Jackson grinned. "We'll keep it in mind."

"Deal," April said sleepily. It had been a long day – the flights, the drive, the confrontation with Kimmie, the talk with her mom, the time change – and although she hadn't felt tired at all when she'd first come outside, now, comfortably cozied up to Jackson, wrapped in his arms, head resting on his chest, listening to his heart beat, it was all catching up to her now.

"My mom likes you," she said with a yawn. "Alice too."

He smiled. "Glad to hear it. Your dad seemed okay too."

April nodded, her hair tickling his chin as her head moved. 'Yeah, I think he's cool with you – dunno, haven't really talked to him yet. It helps that I'm the last one to bring someone home. Also, Kimmie was the first to bring a serious guy home and she was already pregnant by the time they met Brett, so, you know, anyone's an improvement over that." She laughed softly. "The fact that I'm not knocked up scored you definite points."

Jackson tried not to laugh. He could tell she was truly exhausted though – the stream-of-consciousness conversation was a dead giveaway. "Hey, I do what I can."

"You and my birth control pills," April mumbled and Jackson couldn't help laughing.

April sat up and looked at him blearily. "Don't laugh at me – am I talking nonsense?"

"Not exactly, but I can tell you're tired."

April nodded, stifling another yawn. "It just hit me all of a sudden."

"C'mon," he said, standing up and forcing her to her feet. "I think it's bedtime." He guided her into her room and sat down on the edge of the bed as she pulled her sweatshirt off and crawled under the covers.

He started to stand up to leave and she grabbed at his hand, pulling him back down. "Where're you going?"

"To my room?" he replied, sounding a little confused.

April shook her head. "No, stay here," she said, pulling him down beside her and burrowing back into his chest and closing her eyes. "Need you here."

"But April –" he protested, trying futilely to sit up again "- your parents –"

"Mama said it's okay as long as Daddy doesn't find out," April told him, mumbling against his chest again.

"Really?" Jackson asked, incredulous.

The tone of his voice seemed to finally crack through April's sleep haze and she sat up. "Not in so many words, but basically yeah."

"Hunh," Jackson muttered to himself, a little surprised. "Cool," he finally said, stripping off his t-shirt and track pants before sliding under the covers next to his girlfriend, who immediately curled back up against him and was soon fast asleep. He had to admit, he slept better when she was in his arms and in no time, sleep had claimed him too.


	18. Chapter 18

April woke up slowly, blinking in the pre-dawn gloom of the bedroom. They'd neglected to pull the drapes closed the night before, but she supposed that was a good thing – the morning light coming in would help ensure they woke up early enough to get Jackson back to the right room.

Sometime in the night she had rolled away from him and now, with a sigh, she rolled back over to look at him. She really didn't want to wake him up and send him away, but she'd never really done anything to defy or disappoint her parents and she wasn't sure that now was the time to start. It was _awfully_ tempting, though.

Reluctantly, she reached over to gently shake his shoulder.

"Jackson," she said softly and he shrugged her hand away without opening his eyes.

April sighed again.

"Jackson…" she repeated, in a sing-song tone. The corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying not to smile and April rolled her eyes.

She leaned over and placed a few kisses along his jaw line, trailing her hand down his chest as she did.

He opened his eyes and grinned at her. "That's more like it," he said, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her against him as he turned on his side towards her. "_Far_ better way to be woken up."

"I suppose," April said lightly as he lowered his head and kissed her and then she sighed again, happily this time.

"Much as I'd rather you stay here," she said reluctantly, between kisses, "You have to go."

Jackson stopped kissing her long enough to reach across her and grab her phone from the nightstand. "It's only like five in the morning," he said as he set it back down after checking the time. "We've got plenty of time – let's make good use of it," he said with a suggestive grin.

April bit her lip, torn. On the one hand – upset parents. On the other, hot shirtless man in her bed. It was quite a dilemma.

"Yeah, but dad – he's a farmer, remember? Up with the chickens and all that," she protested half-heartedly as he pulled her back into his arms, hands sliding under her shirt.

"Thought he grew corn, not chickens," Jackson countered. "Besides, he's on vacation, right? Maybe he'll sleep late."

"You really want to take that risk?" April managed to ask as he rolled on top of her, kisses moving down her neck.

Jackson pulled away far enough that he could look her in the eyes. "I want _you_," he said, totally serious for moment.

April looked back at him, a jolt of lust shooting through her at his words. "That is so unfair. How am I supposed to say no to that?"

Jackson grinned. "I was hoping you wouldn't."

"I – but – we –" April spluttered. "I want to," she added hastily, "God, do I want to – but what if we –"

"Are heard? Get caught?" Jackson asked between kisses and she thought, 'aw, the hell with it.' He raised an eyebrow as she pulled her t-shirt off even as she was nodding 'yes' in response to his questions.

"Oh, shut up," she grinned at him in response to the eyebrow. "Like you didn't know this was where we were headed from the moment we woke up. But," she added in a threatening tone, "If we get caught, I will kill you."

He laughed. "If we get caught – depending on who catches us – you might not have to worry about it." He paused, looking briefly worried. "_Would_ your dad kill me?"

April shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe."

"Okay, so our plan is to not get caught."

April rolled her eyes. "Our plan is, less talking, more clothes removing," she told him, grinning.

Jackson laughed. "God, I love you," he replied before making short work of removing what was left of his clothes and hers and then ensuring that, should her parents kill either or both of them – well, at least they'd die happy.

Afterward, April had to admit that the little element of fear had certainly made the whole thing a little more exciting.

"I wonder," she mused absent-mindedly and beside her, Jackson rolled onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow.

"Wonder what?"

She shook her head as she turned to look at him. "How people do that in the on-call rooms at the hospital and then go right back to work. I just – I don't think I could–"

Jackson chuckled, shrugging. "We'll put that on the list."

April rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay," she said sarcastically as he leaned over to kiss her. "Okay," she said as they broke apart. "You really have to go now."

"I know," he said, kissing her once more before sliding out of bed and pulling his clothes back on. "See you in a couple hours."

She nodded as she watched him exit on to the deck and then briefly climbed out of bed and put her pajamas back on before lying back down with a sigh, reflecting on the morning so far.

Finally, April drifted back to sleep for a little bit longer until she was re-awakened by a knock on her door.

"April?" Alice called out. "You awake?"

April sat up, immensely grateful that she had taken the time to put her pajamas back on earlier. "Yeah, come in."

"I need your help," Alice declared as she entered the room. "I can't decide how to wear my hair."

April shook her head. "Alice, it's only what, like eight-something, right? The ceremony is hours from now, there's plenty of time."

Alice grinned and admitted, "Okay, so I really just wanted to see if you'd had the guts to sneak Jackson in here last night."

April stared at her, looking slightly horrified. "Oh God, you heard us, didn't you?"

Alice looked equal parts grossed out and delighted by the question. "What? Ew, no! But good for you!"

April laughed. "Why did you ask if you don't want to know?"

Alice shrugged. "Because. He really seems to have an effect on you. So I was just curious."

Her expression grew serious as she came over and sat down beside her sister.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly, "about everything you went through last year. I had no idea…"

April shook her head. "How could you know? It's okay."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

April shook her head again, a little more forcefully this time. "Not really. Not now anyway – maybe one day. But it's not a topic for a wedding day."

Alice nodded. "Okay. Ooh, is that bacon I smell? Yay! Okay, I will need your help with my hair later, but I'm gonna go down and get breakfast first." She bounded out of the room and April laughed as she got out of bed, pulled her hair in a ponytail and pulled on jeans and another SGMW t-shirt before heading out of her room.


	19. Chapter 19

She met up with Jackson in the hallway, laughing when he greeted her with, "Look, not the hospital," as he pointed at the Seahawks t-shirt he was wearing.

"You're crazy," she said affectionately as they headed upstairs to the dining room where there was indeed bacon along with plenty of other breakfast selections.

"Good morning," Karen greeted them. "Everyone sleep okay?" Her face and voice were neutral, but April couldn't quite meet her eyes and didn't trust her voice to not give them away, so she settled for nodding and Jackson replied, "Yes, ma'am," as they found seats at the table.

"Where's Dad?" April asked curiously as she reached for the coffee pot.

"He took the girls over to the aquarium, on Roanoke Island," Kimmie explained, pushing the coffee pot closer to her.

"Really?" April asked. "Willingly?"

"Lesser of two evils," Karen said with a smile. "Everyone here is on wedding prep duty. We may not be having a lot of guests, but we still have a lot to do."

April groaned under her breath. "Lucky dad," she muttered.

Kimmie looked thoughtful before shaking her head. "Not necessarily. My girls are a handful, even I'll admit that."

"They just take after their mother," Karen replied fondly, as the rest of the table laughed knowingly.

Once breakfast was finished and the table cleared, everyone was dispatched to various assignments. Kimmie, widely acknowledged as a kitchen disaster, was sent to vacuum, dust and otherwise thoroughly clean the common rooms on the third floor, while Karen, Libby and April set up shop in the kitchen to prepare a vast array of appetizers and desserts. The ceremony was set for just around sunset – seven o'clock-ish – and the handful of guests who weren't family – Alice and Rob's school friends, currently making the nearly seven-hour drive from Winston-Salem – had been instructed to eat dinner before arriving.

On the deck, the bride was directing Jackson and her brothers-in-law on where to place the furniture, a task that only became more frustrating the longer it went on. Alice kept changing her mind as to how she wanted things laid out and Jackson lost count of the number of times he, Eric and Brett had rolled their eyes at each other.

Finally around noon, everything was deemed as ready as it could be at that point and they all trooped into the kitchen for sandwiches before Alice herded her mother and sisters downstairs and into one of the vans, off to a local nail salon.

When they returned several hours later, hands and feet scrubbed and lotioned, nails clipped and polished, and buckets of KFC in tow for dinner, they found the guys – even baby Matthew – exactly where they had left them – sprawled on the couch watching yet another basketball game.

"Dinner!" Kimmie announced cheerfully and Brett grinned at her.

"Aw, baby, you made your specialty," he teased as he followed her to the kitchen.

Libby shook her head as she took the baby from Eric. "Sometimes I actually do think they like each other," she said to April, who laughed as she reached for Jackson's hand and pulled him up off the couch.

"Had a good day?" she asked as they walked to the kitchen to get plates of chicken.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's been alright."

April grinned. "You overdosed on basketball yet?"

"Never," Jackson replied, grinning back.

Joe and his grand-daughters returned from their outing then – his assignment had been to keep them out of the way, so after the Aquarium, they'd visited the Wright Brothers Memorial and watched the hang gliders on Jockey's Ridge. Dinner was gotten through quickly so everyone could return to their rooms to get ready for the day's main event.

April was showered, dressed and otherwise put together in record time and left her room to go to Alice's to, as promised earlier, help her with her hair.

As she had that morning, she once again ran into Jackson in the hall.

"Hey," she said, pausing to admire how he looked. He was only wearing khakis and a dress shirt, but they so seldom saw each other in anything dressy that it was always kind of exciting.

"Hey," he replied, his face lighting up as he looked at her. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," she replied, blushing. It was just a fairly simple sleeveless dress, one she'd worn before, but still –

"Didn't you wear that to Yang and Hunt's wedding?" he asked.

She frowned. "Shut up! I wear scrubs most of the time; I don't own a lot of dresses – wait –" she suddenly cut herself off as a realization dawned. "You remember what I wore to Cristina and Owen's wedding?"

Jackson shrugged. "Yeah, so? You looked pretty. Same as now," he said, a small smile on his face.

In contrast, the smile that spread across April's face was huge as she moved in to give him a kiss. "That may be the best compliment I've gotten in ages. I can't believe you remembered! Or that you even noticed in the first place…"

Jackson grinned. "I paid more attention than you think."

April smiled, feeling just the slightest bit overwhelmed. "Listen, I – I've gotta go help Alice and I'm guessing it's a no boys allowed thing and-"

He held up a hand. "Say no more. I'll meet you outside," he said, giving her one more kiss before heading upstairs.

Twenty minutes later, Jackson turned to see her coming down the steps from the deck and smiled as she made her way across the sand towards him.

"Everyone ready?" he asked.

April nodded. "I think so." She sighed, even as she was smiling. "She seems so happy."

Jackson reached in his pocket and handed her a tissue. She took it, looking at him questioningly.

He grinned. "I also remembered that you cried the whole way through Hunt and Yang's ceremony, even though we barely knew them then. I figure you'll be bawling for this, being your sister and all."

April rolled her eyes, scowling at him, even though she had to admit he was probably right. "What can I say?" she said with another sigh. "I'm a big, sappy romantic."

Jackson laughed, putting his arm around her shoulders and squeezing gently. "It's okay."

She smiled as he dropped his arm and reached for her hand, threading their fingers together as the assembled group grew quiet after spotting Alice and Joe at the top of the stairs. Alice was committed to keeping things simple and had opted for no bridesmaids. There was no need for ushers either, since the twenty-five or so guests were simply standing in clusters on the sand. The ceremony was short and sweet, but even so, April still found herself in tears, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue Jackson had given her.

He squeezed her hand as they watched Rob kiss his bride and April glanced briefly up at Jackson before looking back at her sister and new brother-in-law. For just a moment, she let herself imagine that it was her and Jackson standing in front of the group, being pronounced husband and wife and then she almost laughed at herself. Imagining a wedding after just a few months of dating? No, it was way too soon to be thinking that way. But – maybe one day…


	20. Chapter 20

"Three down, one to go – can you believe he said that?"

Jackson wrinkled his forehead as he tried to decipher what April had just mumbled into his arm. They'd wandered away from the reception, winding up back on the second-floor deck on the whicker love seat outside their room, her head resting on his shoulder as they looked out at the ocean. Finally, he shook his head, giving up.

"I'm sorry, what? I couldn't understand a word of that," he admitted.

April laughed softly as she sat up. "Sorry. My dad, when I was dancing with him earlier, said 'three down, one to go.' I mean, I know he didn't mean it to be mean, but…"

"Well," Jackson said, trying to be diplomatic, "He was just stating his observation, I'm sure."

April shook her head. "I know, but come on. Doesn't he realize I'm already very aware of being the last unattached daughter?" She made a face. "Maybe that's why mom was being so cool last night – maybe they're just thinking 'oh, thank God she's actually got a boyfriend, maybe we actually have a hope of marrying her off.' Ugh," she sighed. "Dad did say he liked you though, that you seem like a nice guy."

Jackson nodded. "Good to know I have his approval," he said wryly.

Something in the tone of his voice caught April's attention and she turned towards him with a horrified look on her face. "Oh, God – crap. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to - I didn't mean – I shouldn't have said – " She stopped, took a deep breath and attempted to compose herself.

Jackson studied her for a minute, not really sure what to say. "You okay?" he finally asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"For what? Bringing up marriage?" he shrugged. "You're at a wedding. It's kind of a natural leap."

April rolled her eyes. "Not exactly for us, do you think? We've only been dating for like three months. You're my first – well, everything really. It's just a little bit too soon."

"You brought it up," Jackson pointed out.

"Only because my dad did," April replied, sounding a little confused. "And he wasn't saying we should get married, just saying that I was the only one not married and why the hell doesn't this conversation make any sense?"

Jackson laughed as he pointed at the red plastic Solo cup in her hand. "Because I'm pretty sure that you've got a whole lot more rum than Coke in that drink."

"So?" was her brilliant comeback, sticking her tongue out at him.

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the one who told me tongues should be kept away unless they're going to be put to good use?"

"Oh, shut up," she said, giggling as she leaned over to kiss him.

"Besides," she added good-naturedly when they finally broke apart, "If you can't get drunk at your sister's wedding when you're the only single sister left, when can you get drunk?"

Jackson laughed. "Seems as good a place as any to me," he said, taking a sip from his own beer bottle. "No one's driving, the hospital is three thousand miles away…"

"Exactly."

They were quiet for a moment before Jackson spoke. "And see, you can look at it this way – you're really better off being the last Kepner girl standing."

April regarded him curiously. "How do you figure?"

"Okay, well Kimmie got married first, right?" April nodded and Jackson continued, "Okay, well no offense to her, but she kinda settled, don't you think?"

April frowned. "You're just saying that because I told you that none of us really like Brett very much."

Jackson laughed. "Sweetie, trust me. The last 24 hours have been plenty of time for me to figure out on my own that you all are right."

April laughed. "God, he's a jerk, isn't he?"

Jackson nodded in agreement. "Okay and so then there's Eric. He's okay – a little bland, really serious, but not a bad guy. And then Rob seems really cool – like, I could totally see him and Alice coming to visit us in Seattle and we'd have fun."

April nodded. "Yeah, that would be cool," she replied, reflecting on the idea for a moment before turning the conversation back to the original point. "So – why am I better off?"

Jackson grinned, looking mischievous. "Because – you've held out all these years – and you wound up with me. Pretty lucky, huh?"

April stared at him for a minute before bursting into laughter. "Really? That's your reasoning?"

"Yup," he replied, still grinning.

April shook her head as the implications of his words started sinking into her brain, which was just a little fuzzy. "Wait a minute…"

"Hmm?"

"Does that mean you would think about marrying me – like one day?"

Jackson looked mildly uncomfortable – he hadn't fully thought his whole theory out, obviously.

April shook her head again. "No, no, wait, never mind, forget I said that –"

"April," he said, interrupting her. "I'm nowhere near ready to get married right now. But one day – yeah, I could see you and me…" he shrugged as his voice trailed off.

"Okay," April said, nodding slowly as she took a sip of her drink before resting her head on his shoulder again. He breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"So, to answer your earlier question, yeah," she said quietly. "I guess I did get pretty lucky."

Jackson smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

"It's been really nice to have these couple of days away from everything, hasn't it?" she mused and he nodded.

"Back to reality tomorrow," he said.

"God, I hope Lexie remembers to pick us up from the airport!" April exclaimed and Jackson laughed.

But before he could reply, Lisa ran down the steps, calling "Aunt April! Grandma says you and Dr. Jackson have to come downstairs and wave goodbye to Aunt Alice and Uncle Rob!"

"Okay," April replied, smiling at her older niece. "Thanks for coming to get us, honey."

The four-year-old nodded in grateful acknowledgement of her aunt's realization of the importance of her task before racing down the next flight of stairs, determined to get there first.

April laughed as Jackson stood up and held his hand out to her. She took it, gratefully – the idea of standing up was a bit daunting at the moment. Jackson couldn't help laughing a little as she got unsteadily to her feet.

"How drunk are you?" he asked, still laughing and April rolled her eyes before shaking her head.

"Dunno," she said, thinking a minute before offering, "Drunk enough not to worry about getting caught having sex in my parents' house?" She giggled as he grinned at her.

"Just drunk enough then, I guess," he said and she rolled her eyes again.

"Oh, shut up," she said as she took his hand and they headed down to the driveway to send the newlyweds off on their honeymoon.


	21. Chapter 21

**Note: Sorry for the delay, ya'll. I've been fighting some writer's block, plus, ya know, life happens. Anyway, like the show, we'll be doing a bit of a time jump here, picking up after April's bar scene in 7-21 "I Will Survive." Since I imagined Alice's wedding happening about a week before Callie's car accident, that puts us now about 3-4 months from the last chapter. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!**

Jackson walked into Joe's, scanning the crowd for his girlfriend, whom he was supposed to meet there. He finally spotted her at a small table near the back, scowling at her Scotch.

After grabbing a beer at the bar, he crossed the room, asking, "What'd that drink ever do to you?" as he dropped into the seat across from her.

"Huh?" was her eloquent reply as she looked up, startled by his arrival.

Jackson gestured towards her glass. "You're totally giving that thing a death glare."

April shook her head, smiling sheepishly. "Wasn't meaning to," she said, picking up the glass and taking a sip.

"Everything okay?" he asked. "Bad day?"

April shrugged. "Not exactly. It's just – Cristina. And my protocol procedure checklists. And – I don't know."

Jackson couldn't help but still look confused. "I think you're gonna have to be a little more specific 'cause I'm still not exactly sure what's wrong."

April sighed and relayed the story of the tree patient, finishing with a sigh, "So I know. I know Cristina thinks I'm a huge loser. I know everyone thinks I'm totally uptight and inflexible. But the fact remains – checklists work. I mean, pilots use them, we use them in surgery…" Her voice trailed off and Jackson could tell just looking at her that her mind was a million miles away. Her voice was wavery when she finally spoke again. "I just – I think about it, ya know? If I hadn't gotten distracted, if I'd had a list like that, I would have realized – she wouldn't be dead."

Jackson reached across the table for her hand, his expression sympathetic. "Hey," he said gently. "I know it was an awful, terrible thing. But you can't dwell on it – it was a mistake, they happen. To all of us."

April nodded. "I know. And I really don't dwell on it all the time – it's just the stress right now. I'm second-guessing myself. We're all on edge." She took a sip of her drink and then set the glass back down on the table, staring pensively at it. Then she gestured vaguely across the bar in Alex's direction. "Alex too. There's something weird going on between him and Meredith."

"Is there?"

April nodded. "It seems like they're barely speaking to each other – hadn't you noticed?"

Jackson shrugged. "Not really – but you pay more attention to people than I do."

April acknowledged the statement with a nod before sighing heavily. "I just wish they'd announce chief resident already so we can all quit worrying about it."

Jackson nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'd be nice to just be done with the whole thing."

"Anyway," April declared, "no dwelling. How was your day? How are the mice?"

"The mice – are good, I guess," Jackson said slowly, avoiding meeting her eyes.

"You guess?" April asked confused. "What does that mean?"

Jackson sighed, staring down at the table for a long minute before looking up and admitting, "I quit the trial."

April stared at him in disbelief. "You what? But why? The trial's amazing – it's awesome. It could win –" Realization dawned on her face as her voice trailed off. "—awards."

Jackson smiled wryly. "I'm impressed – you figured it out a lot faster than Hunt did."

April smiled. "Well, like you said, I pay attention. Plus," she added, a teasing note in her voice, "I would like to think I know you a little bit better than Dr. Hunt does."

Jackson smiled for real at that. "Yeah, I hope so."

April's smile faded into a look of concern. "It's not fair though."

"It's being fair to the Chief," Jackson countered. "Look, I promise – I really thought about this, okay?"

April nodded. "I'm not trying to talk you out of your decision. I'm just saying – it's not fair. Do you have to step out every time a trial looks potentially award-worthy? Are you only supposed to work on mediocre trials, cases, whatever, the rest of your life?"

Jackson shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge the next time. It's just – what I needed to do right now, okay?"

"Okay," April said quietly, nodding again. She leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her hair and then stifling a yawn.

"Ready to get home?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah," she replied, standing up and taking the hand he held out to her. "Sorry," she added. "I know I haven't been great company lately."

Jackson laughed. "You're not so bad. Besides, it's true, what you said – we're all under so much stress right now. None of us are very good company these days."

"Fifth year residents," she mused as they walked back across the street to the hospital parking long. "Can you believe we're almost there? That first day seems so long ago."

Jackson shook his head. "I can barely remember it. To be honest," he admitted, "I'm not even sure I remember meeting you. I mean, I'm sorry – I know that sounds really crummy of me –"

"It's okay," April said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I was kinda trying to fade in the background at the beginning. Besides," she admitted, "I never expected you to even notice me. You were so – hot. And I was – well – me."

They were nearly to the car by then and Jackson stopped short at her words. April continued walking the few feet to the car and turned back to look at him.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have – "

April shrugged. "It's okay. You notice me now," she said simply.

Jackson nodded. "Yeah. I definitely do," he said softly, closing the gap between them and pulling her against him as he lowered his head to kiss her.

The kiss ended but they stood there for a few more minutes, her arms around his neck, and his arms around her waist.

"C'mon," April said finally, pushing him gently away from her and grabbing the keys from his hand. "Let's go to the house."


	22. Chapter 22

**Note: I don't know if it's the stress in my life or the terribly depressing season finale, but the inspiration is just not here and so I think we've come to the end of this journey. I can't thank you all enough for coming along for the ride with me! This was only ever supposed to be a one-shot story and now here we are – 6 months and 22 chapters later! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope you enjoy this last bit for now – please let me know!**

***This picks up after the end of the season finale, episode 7-22 "Unaccompanied Minor."**

The 'frat house' appeared dark and quiet when Jackson pulled his car into the driveway, April beside him in the passenger seat.

"Meredith's the only one home?" April commented as they walked up the front path.

Jackson shrugged. "Looks like Cristina's here too, but yeah."

"I guess Lexie's with Mark and –" April cut off her musings as they walked in the front door and, through the living room doorway, she caught sight of Cristina asleep on the couch.

"And what?" Jackson asked, entering the house behind her.

"Shh," April replied, glancing back at him and gesturing towards the couch before heading into the kitchen.

Jackson raised his eyebrows and April shrugged in response.

"Don't ask me," she said quietly, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I have no idea why she's sleeping here."

"Something happen with her and Hunt?" Jackson asked as he pulled two beers out of the fridge and set them on the table before settling into a chair.

April shrugged again. "Not that I know of. But it was a weird day. Everyone seemed – weird – today somehow. I guess it's all that adrenaline, getting ready for the crisis and then – ending up with no real crisis, not medically anyway." She looked thoughtful, reflecting back on the long, strange day they'd ended up having.

"At least something good happened today," Jackson said a touch philosophically, as he grinned at her. "Chief friggin' resident," he declared, repeating the words he'd said earlier in the evening.

April laughed softly. "I think you're almost more excited about it than I am."

"Only because you realized you'll have to be everyone's boss."

April made a face. "Damn. I also just realized I can't be proud of us anymore, for being the only ones not dating a supervisor – now you'll be sleeping with your boss," she informed him, smiling impishly.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess at least there's the gender role reversal – you can be proud of that, I guess?"

April rolled her eyes right back at him. "As long as you don't start accusing me of sexual harassment, we should be fine."

Jackson grinned and affected a sultry tone to tell her, cheesily, "Baby, you can sexually harass me anytime you want."

April couldn't help bursting into laughter and Jackson joined her for a minute before his face turned serious.

"Listen, though, there's something I wanted to talk to you –"

The sound of their presence had finally drifted upstairs to catch Meredith's attention and Jackson was interrupted by her footsteps hurrying down the steps as she quietly called out the names of other residents of the house.

"Derek? Alex? Lex – oh, it's you guys," she said as she came through the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah, just us," Jackson said.

"Sorry," April added. "We didn't wake you up, did we?"

"What?" Meredith said, looking and sounding distracted. "Oh. No. You're fine. Better be careful, though," she added, glancing back towards the living room. "You wake Cristina up, that is not my problem."

April and Jackson both nodded and there was mildly awkward silence for a minute before Meredith bit the bullet and asked, "By any chance, did you guys see Derek before you left the hospital?"

April exchanged a glance with Jackson; both of them clearly wondering what was going on, but they both merely shook their heads.

Meredith nodded. "Thanks."

She turned to leave the kitchen and that's when April caught sight of what was in her hand.

"Meredith – what is tha – is that a baby monitor?"

Meredith nodded wearily. "Yeah. We got temporary custody –"

"Of Zola!" April guessed, chiming in to finish the sentence with her. "Oh wow, that's great! And so exciting – congratulations!"

"Yeah, congrats," Jackson echoed, raising his beer bottle toast-style in her direction.

Meredith smiled, her face relaxing for a minute. "Yeah, it's great," she said quietly. "Thanks. And, um, to you too, April – chief resident and all."

April nodded. "Thanks," she replied, smiling automatically. "And, um, I'm sure, with Zola here and all, Derek will be home as soon as he can. He must have gotten held up by something."

Meredith nodded grimly. "Yeah. Something." She sighed and then shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts. "Good night, guys – and listen – just – keep it down, okay? If you wake Zola up, I might have to kill you."

April nodded. "And if we wake Cristina up, she'll definitely kill us."

Meredith smiled wanly. "Exactly. So, good night."

Jackson and April replied in kind as Meredith turned and went back upstairs to go to bed.

"Wow," April said. "They might really get to adopt Zola – that's so amazing!"

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, it really is pretty cool."

April frowned. "I hope everything's okay with her and Derek. She seemed kinda weird about that – don't you think?"

Jackson shrugged. His mind was elsewhere and he hadn't really been paying full attention to Meredith. "I don't know – you said everybody seemed weird today."

"True. So, anyway, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?" April's was its usual chipper tone but at the serious look on Jackson's face, she was suddenly feeling terribly nervous.

"I've been thinking," he began, "about us – and about how much longer this is going to work like this."

"Oh God," April said without thinking, "You're breaking up with me."

Jackson scowled at her. "No, you idiot."

"Hey!"

"Okay, fine, you're not an idiot, but will you let me finish before you start jumping to crazy conclusions?"

"Fine," April muttered and Jackson smiled, reaching across the table to take her hand in his.

"You worry too much," he said, not unkindly, and April nodded. She knew it was true. "Anyway," he continued, "what I was going to say – and it makes even more sense now in light of the Zola news – I think we should get a place of our own."

April looked a little stunned. "Wow. Really? You think we should live together? Isn't that a pretty big step?"

Jackson looked amused. "We've kinda been 'living together' since way before we ever hooked up. I'm not sure it's that big."

"Oh," April said, considering this statement. "Well. Yeah, when you put it like that..." her voice trailed off as she looked him, his face hopeful. "I – yeah. Let's do it. Why not?"

Jackson broke into a grin. "Seriously? You're sure?"

April nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "Yeah. I'm sure. It'll be awesome."

"Definitely," Jackson agreed, leaning over to kiss her. The future definitely looked bright.


End file.
